


Common Ground(s)

by aizia, Bonbonbourbon, Dliessmgg, MetalWarrior22, Mothia, TheSoundOfThunderstorms, Tygerrtygerr



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cat, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-20 08:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20672630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aizia/pseuds/aizia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonbonbourbon/pseuds/Bonbonbourbon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dliessmgg/pseuds/Dliessmgg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetalWarrior22/pseuds/MetalWarrior22, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mothia/pseuds/Mothia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSoundOfThunderstorms/pseuds/TheSoundOfThunderstorms, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tygerrtygerr/pseuds/Tygerrtygerr
Summary: Fareeha and Angela run different coffee shops in the same square, and Angela can’t quite hide her distaste for newcomer Fareeha; she was there first, after all. Fareeha, in turn, quickly learns that Angela is rather easy to badger. Despite their brewing rivalry, hot drinks and shopkeeping may not be all that they have in common.





	1. The Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a collaborative piece between myself (Mothia) and several others, with each person writing one chapter. This first one's mine; I hope you enjoy it!

It had rained the previous night, and Angela had fallen asleep to the sound of it pattering on her roof. Now the fresh, earthy smell of it filled her nose as she fiddled with her keys to unlock the door. The handle was frigid this early in the morning, coated with small beads of moisture; Angela patted her hand dry on her coat as she shouldered open the door.

A pale shadow detached itself from the store’s corner at the sound of the shopkeepers bell. It trotted across the floor to rub against Angela’s legs, mewing plaintively and blinking wide, blue eyes.

“Hello, dear.” Angela bent down to sweep the cat up into her arms. It meowed again. “Yes, yes, I know,” she soothed.

The door jingled again, and Angela glanced over her shoulder, shaking some hair out of her eyes. “Lena, good morning.”

“Morning!” Lena beamed, reaching out to give the cat a pat; it pricked its ears and glanced around. “Morning to you, too. Have you been terrorizing any of the plants?”

The cat mewed and swished its tail.

“I’ll go feed her.” Angela set the cat on the ground and disappeared into the back of the shop.

The cat looked from the door, to Lena, again to the door, and back to Lena.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Lena said, sternly. “We both know you’re not allowed back there.”

The sound of food in a bowl lured the cat away before she could begin pawing disappointedly at the door.

The shop opened for business at 6:00 in the morning, but as bad as Lena was at being anywhere on time, she was speedy when she wanted to be. She usually had just enough time to down a cup of coffee and pat the cat—a gentle, but lively seal point by the name of Missy, before her shift. Lena always thought that a name like “Latte” would have been more appropriate, considering her cream and coffee color (and the nature of the store!), but Angela had always been attached to calling her ‘Missy.’

That didn’t stop Lena from trying though. “You know, boss, we could have it both ways.”

“What?” Angela, in the middle of sipping a coffee herself, gave Lena a curious look.

“I mean, ‘Missy’ is usually short for something, right?” Lena dug her fingers into the cat’s scruff. Even Angela could hear her purring.

“Ah, you’re still going on about that?” Angela shrugged. “It’s usually Melissa.”

“Or, or…” Lena help up a finger. “Miss…” She trailed off. 

Angela raised an eyebrow. “Miss?”

“I dunno, Latte. Or something like that.”

“Miss Something Like That.” Angela grinned. “Artistic.”

“You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Do I?” Angela eyed the clock, and emptied her cup. “We should get back to work.”

“Yeah, okay.” Lena reluctantly hopped to her feet, deciding not to press it.

Angela made her way to the sink. “And Lena…”

“Yeah?”

“Just ‘Angela’ is fine.”

Lena grinned. “Sure thing, boss.”

* * *

It stayed cool and dimly overcast the entire morning, a gauzy mist swirling over the ground; the forecast had predicted rain. The café was a cozy respite from the chill—invitingly warm and well lit. The plants arranged both inside and out gave it a slightly whimsical air, as did Missy perched by the window, watching passers-by. 

It was always slow in the earliest hours of the day, before most people had properly woken up, but those that _ were _up and about seemed well pleased to come inside for a cup of something hot, and perhaps a quick bite to eat to start off their day.

In other words: business was good.

By the time peak hours rolled around at roughly midmorning, the air had warmed up enough to thin out the mist, and some light had broken through the dark, grey sky. The scent of coffee, sugar, and chocolate wafted through the air. Angela took a moment to retie her hair and bask in the comfort of her domain. It was bustling. A quiet bustle, to be sure, but a bustle nonetheless._ Good _. Angela allowed herself a small glow of satisfaction. She smiled, looked around, and was pleased to see a few regulars.

“Good morning, Winston.” Angela made her way to a table in the corner. She nodded. “Mei.”

The two, who had been chatting animatedly over the contents of a thick book, broke off their conversation. Angela glanced at the book; it was large, a fact belied by the fact that Winston himself was even larger. He tended to hunch down and curl in his shoulders in a bid to make himself look smaller, but it only worked a little bit. Mei still only came up to his shoulder. He adjusted his glasses and dipped his head. “Angela! Good morning.”

“Already in the books this early in the morning, are we?”

“Sorry, Angela.” Mei, sipping her usual cup of green tea, ventured a small smile. “You know how it is sometimes.”

“Mm. Well, if you ever need fuel for all that work…” Angela cocked an eyebrow. She grinned. “I’m glad to see you two around.”

“Happy to be here. It’s good coffee weather,” Winston replied.

Mei nodded along. “How have things been?”

“Good.” Angela looked out over the shop again. “Business has been good.”

Winston raised his eyebrows just slightly. “Still worrying over that, Angela?”

Angela drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “Not worrying.” She glanced out the window and frowned vacantly.

Winston hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Well, don’t let us take up too much of your time.”

Angela shook herself out of her reverie. “Yes, of course. While I’m here, can I get either of you anything?”

The two exchanged a glance, and shook their heads. “We’re fine.”

Angela nodded. “It was nice talking to you. Good luck at work, you two.”

“Likewise, Angela.” Mei gave her a small wave as she walked away.

Angela looked over her shoulder when she reached the counter. The two were already engrossed in another deep conversation. Mei took a long drink from her cup, tapping a pen on the book, and Winston pushed his glasses up his nose, murmuring something in reply.

“They seem to be in good spirits, don’t you think?” Lena said. She nodded at the corner. “Don’t see the big guy up this early all that often. Only wakes up for real important things.”

Angela gave her a bemused look. “Like peanut butter cookies?”

“You know it!” Lena elbowed Angela in the side. “Now, you done standing around chatting to people or what? Come help me!”

“Lena…”

Lena stuck out her tongue and immediately turned around to ring someone up. Angela snorted.

* * *

Emily showed up in the late morning, during the quieter hour after the morning rush and before lunch. Lena liked to argue for the virtues of brunch, but Angela thought that Lena was privately glad to have that lull in her work day. It gave her and Emily time to swap banter, or simply enjoy each others’ company.

“Oh Angela,” Lena said, looking up, “we’re running low on a few things.”

“Coconut milk and change, specifically,” Emily chimed in.

“And cat treats!”

“Lena!” Emily whirled around to face her. “Have you been feeding her extra?”

“No!” Lena held up her hands and put on her best innocent face. “She’s just smart, that’s all! Got into them when I wasn’t looking.”

All eyes turned to Missy, who had an altogether far better innocent face than Lena did. She blinked, slowly, and flicked the tip of her tail.

Angela gave the cat a stern look. “That’s bad for you, you know.”

After a minute, Emily sighed. “She’s hard to get mad at. We should store them more securely. Get a tin with clasps, or something.”

“I’ll think about it.” Angela disappeared into the back, and re-emerged shortly with her jacket. “Are you two alright here?”

“Perfectly fine, Angela.” Emily gestured around at the people in the shop—a couple of students with some loose stacks of paper and a variety of books, two men with newspapers having a quiet conversation by the window, and a woman tucked into the corner with a laptop. “It’s hardly rush hour.”

Angela had to resist making a snide joke about leaving the two of them together alone, but that wouldn’t have been fair. “I’ll be right back.”

There had been a smattering of rain in the late morning, but, thankfully, it had not persisted. There were even a few wide breaks in the clouds now, white beams of sunlight peeking through the cover to glisten on the wet stones and plants on the street.

There weren’t many people out and about, and it didn’t take Angela long to pick up the supplies she needed—coconut milk, chicken-flavored cat treats, and a glass jar with a locking lid (Angela didn’t actually know if cats could taste metal, but she figured it was polite to be sure). She felt only slightly silly about it—no doubt a cat would struggle to open even a regular lid, but Missy was smart. Some small part of Angela didn’t put it past her.

A quick stop by the bank, and Angela was on her way back, one hand holding a bag, the other tucked into her pocket. Angela kept her head down, idly watching the ripples as she stepped through the puddles left on the ground from the recent rain. The water reflected a silvery, faint image of the sky when it was still, but glittered in the light when disturbed, and somewhere in the eaves of a nearby building, a bird was whistling. The air was fresh, and the rain had made the lavender that lined the streets particularly bright and lush. Now would be a good time of year to buy some new plants herself, Angela mused, and some new pots to go along with them: perhaps some extra to grow a new arrangement or two. Something accented with yellow or orange would be nice, especially come autumn, and it was always quietly rewarding to watch the arrangements grow, and be able to cycle them between her home and her shop as space dictated. She had plenty of offsets to work with…

Two things about cobblestones, especially ones that have been smoothed through years of traffic: they become slippery when wet, and they are uneven; uneven enough to catch and trip someone not paying attention. These two factors warranted some caution, particularly when one wasn’t paying attention to exactly where she was going.

Angela brushed by someone walking in the opposite direction: a brush, nothing more, but it was just enough for her to lose her footing. As Angela stumbled, she threw out her hand to try to balance herself, especially against the weight of the bag. One misplaced step to try to correct herself slipped, and the tenuous balance was tipped. Angela instinctively closed her eyes and braced herself, a small yelp escaping her lips.

Suddenly, someone caught her hand. Angela blinked open her eyes. “Tha…” She trailed off, looking around to meet warm brown eyes.

“Are you alright?” Fareeha Amari cocked an eyebrow. She pulled Angela upright. “That was close.”

Angela could smell a faint hint of cinnamon on Fareeha’s clothes. She stiffened from the proximity, her heart still beating quickly from the adrenaline. 

She took a step back. “I’m fine.”

Fareeha’s eyes flicked to the bag in Angela’s hand. “Running some errands today? What a coincidence, I’m—”

“I don’t need your help,” Angela said shortly. She shouldered by, drawing her jacket closer around herself against the sudden chill in the air.

“Well alright,” Fareeha turned to watch her go, a trace of confusion in her voice. “Have a nice day.”

Angela didn’t respond. There were two coffee shops in the square, after all. One was Angela’s pride and joy. The other, directly opposite, was owned by Fareeha Amari.

* * *

“So,” Fareeha said. “I ran into Angela today.”

“Oh yeah?” Lúcio didn’t look up from the espresso machine he was cleaning. “How was she?”

“Oh, you know.” Fareeha shrugged. “The usual.”

“Aw man.” Hana tilted the screen of her laptop down. “Sorry about that.”

Brigitte, sitting next to her, chimed in. “That’s not your fault, is it?”

“I mean, I guess. I just feel like… you know.” Hana shrugged. She looked out across square. She shook her head, and checked the time. “I’ve got some things to do; probably shouldn’t stick around for too long…”

“Most of us have some things to do too,” Fareeha commented wryly.

Brigitte stood up hastily, clearing her throat. “Right! Um…”

Hana glanced up, watching her hurry away. “I mean, if you guys actually need any help…”

“Then I’d have to pay you.” Fareeha poured herself a cup of coffee, thick and dark, and took a sip.

“Ah, darn.” Hana frowned. “Can’t really take another job right now… And as much as I like you guys, Angie’s got a cat.”

Fareeha raised an eyebrow. “‘Angie’, is it?”

“Yeah.” Hana shrugged. “‘Angela’ is a little bit long, don’t you think?”

“Not really,” Brigitte replied. “It’s just three syllables.”

“Like ‘Lú-ci-o’,” Lúcio said. “Or ‘Bri-gi-tte’. Or ‘Fa-ree-ha’. Or—”

“Lú, Brig, ‘Reeha.” Hana counted on her fingers. “Next.”

Brigitte snorted. “You’d be the type of barista to get everyone’s names wrong.”

Fareeha took another sip of coffee. “Technically not _ wrong _.”

“Just different! See, she gets it.” Hana pointed triumphantly.

“Correction: you’re both wrong.”

Hana shook her head. She closed her laptop fully, and began to pack it away. “Well, I’m off. You guys should stop by sometime! Keep me company during my shift.”

“I don’t know…” Lúcio frowned. “Your boss is kind of scary.”

“She is not! I’ll have you know that she’s a very nice woman,” Hana snapped back indignantly. “Just… I don’t know, determined.”

“But—”

“You can pet the cat,” Hana said.

Brigitte immediately perked up. “I’m interested.” After a moment, she sheepishly threw Fareeha a look. “I mean…”

Fareeha raised an eyebrow. “I’d be interested in petting a cat too.” She bowed with a theatrical flourish. “You have my blessing.”

“Cool.” Hana downed the rest of her cup, looped her bag over her shoulder, and stood. “It was nice talking to you guys!”

“Yeah, you too.” Brigitte waved her off. She checked her watch, and Fareeha silently dipped her head and turned, her attention shifting to other matters.

* * *

Zarya came in when Brigitte left, early in the afternoon. She exchanged nods and a few short pleasantries with both Fareeha and Lúcio, but much like her shift, Zarya was quiet. 

She was a good friend of Fareeha’s—they worked out together on their days off, and occasionally late at night after closing. They were sometimes joined by Brigitte, which prompted jokes from and about Lúcio regarding the fact that he was the only one of the people working during the weekdays that didn’t go to the gym. He took the teasing in good stride though, so Zarya got along well with him. For the most part, however, he was fine with being a little less talkative in the afternoons.

After she’d met him, Zarya had once mentioned to Fareeha that she liked the “frog boy”. Fareeha had to inform her that he was, in fact, 26. That didn’t really change Zarya’s perception of him.

Starting in the afternoon and extending throughout the evening and into the night, the earthy smell of coffee in the air was steadily replaced by the more delicate, herbal scent of tea. Business slowed as the light streaming through the windows shifted from the golden light of the afternoon sun, to the reds and pinks of the sunset, to the soft orange beams of the evening street lamps.

Closing was a well-worn routine by now. Conduct a walkthrough, do any preparation required for the morning, make sure all food is stored, sweep, mop, take out the trash, wipe down and straighten out the furniture, take inventory, count money, close and lock the register and safe, file receipts, check and lock the cabinets and windows (which were already locked, since it wasn’t the sort of weather where it would be a good idea to open them in the first place), make sure all the electronics were turned off…

Fareeha checked the time, and waved her hand. “You go on ahead. I’ll do the final walkthrough.”

Zarya frowned. “You’re sure?”

“I’ll be fine. Make sure the employee door is locked.” Fareeha took a deep breath. “I just need to think for a few minutes.”

There was a quiet moment, as Zarya considered arguing. Then, she shrugged, and silently departed, leaving Fareeha alone. 

She stood where she was for a long minute, leaning against the countertop, and then slowly, carefully, began to walk around for a last inspection, trailing the tips of her fingers over the wood grain of the tables. It was well and dark outside, the moon blotted over by the clouds. Fareeha stopped by the windows to observe herself, appearing as a dark shadow against the lights reflecting on the windows.

Fareeha took a moment to collect her thoughts and turned away. She dropped some extra sunflower seeds into the hamster cage, carefully made sure the cover and the panels were securely latched and locked, did one last walkaround, and finally turned off the lights.

Fareeha turned her keys in the door, listening for the click. She tried the handle, just to make sure. Locked. She circled around to the front of the store, and tried the front entrance as well. Locked. Satisfied, Fareeha hefted her bag, and began to make her way back home, guided by the light of the street lamps.

It hadn’t started raining yet, thankfully, though that wouldn’t last for long, judging by the thickness of the air. Fareeha looked around, and cocked her head; the night was unusually quiet and still. At this time of year, there were usually moths fluttering around the lamps, or crickets chirping in the shadows, but tonight they were nowhere to be found. Fleeing the impending rain, most likely. Fareeha decided she should probably follow their example.

The wind was picking up. It was a cold breeze, whispering through the leaves of the ivy crawling over some of the walls, ruffling the tops of the shrubbery, and rippling over the puddles. Fareeha pulled her coat closed and ducked her head.

There was a loud, decidedly un-windy rustling in the bushes. Fareeha stopped in her tracks, eyes searching the darkness. She could see only faint hints of the shapes beyond the circle of lamplight. Her skin prickled. The rustling came again.

Before Fareeha could call out, a pale, four-legged shape slipped out of the bushes and darted into the path in front of her. She squinted, trying to make out any more details. Two round eyes glowed in the dark, like coins catching the light. Fareeha warily took a step back as they came closer. The last thing she needed was to get bitten by some rabid animal, alone, on the way home from work.

The thing that stepped into the light was not quite what Fareeha expected. It was a cat; medium-furred, and tan, with dark brown extremities. Seal point, Fareeha remembered. It had wide, stormy-blue eyes and a blue collar.

Fareeha blinked at the cat. It blinked back. After a moment of hesitation, she crouched down, holding out a hand, and it approached, sniffing at her fingertips. “Hello,” she said, quietly. “What are you doing out here? Don’t you know it’s going to rain?”

The cat blinked again, and suddenly mashed its head into Fareeha’s outstretched hand, rubbing its cheek along her palm. “Oh..!” Fareeha wasn’t quite sure what to do, but she tried her best guess. She curled her fingers, tentatively giving the cat some scratches on the cheek, and behind the ear. The cat began to purr vigorously.

Emboldened, Fareeha kept going. The cat twitched its whiskers and leaned into her hand. “You’re friendly, aren’t you?” Fareeha sighed. She withdrew her hand and stood, almost reluctantly. The cat circled her feet and meowed plaintively.

“I have to go home.” Fareeha pointed sternly at it. “And so do you. I wasn’t joking about the rain.” She dusted herself off, and began to walk away.

A few street lamps later, she looked back. The cat sat down and gave her an innocent look, and Fareeha frowned at it. “Go on,” she said. “Go home.”

The cat didn’t move. Fareeha resumed walking, turning a corner and looking back again. The cat was still following her. A gust of wind whirled around Fareeha’s shoulders, blowing through her hair, and she shivered. The cat crouched down and curled its tail around itself, staying still as Fareeha watched it.

Another cold gust, and Fareeha gave in. “Alright, alright,” she grumbled. She walked over and scooped up the cat, hugging it to her chest. “Let’s get you inside for the night.” The cat nestled into the warmth of her jacket and started purring again.

Fareeha held it carefully as she hurried home. It wasn’t too far away, but by the time she opened the door, she could already feel cold drops of water beginning to fall. The rain rapidly swelled to a steady tapping on the windows as Fareeha pulled the door closed, shaking droplets out of her hair. She dropped the cat on the floor, and it beelined towards the couch, settling down on the back of it and turning to stare outside, ears pricked.

Fareeha shook her head, turned on the lights, and went to put the kettle on. She shrugged out of her jacket, hanging it up by the door, and seated herself at her small kitchen table while she waited for the water to boil. The tapping on the window turned into steady drumming, the view outside blurring into patches of dark blue and points of yellow, water sluicing across it in diagonal rivulets. Fareeha started some paperwork, and the cat alternated between watching her and watching the rain.

The whistle of the kettle stirred both of them out of their trances. Fareeha got up to make a cup of tea, and the cat crouched down on the chair next to Fareeha’s, paws tucked neatly beneath its chest, watching over the table as Fareeha moved around.

Fareeha stopped when she spotted it, considered it for a moment, and then sat down again. She put her cup on a coaster and reached over to give the cat another pat. “My mother would have liked you,” she told it. She brushed her thumb over its forehead. Fareeha took a sip of tea, and dug her fingers into the cat’s scruff. She rubbed its neck. “Brigitte would too. They’re both cat people, you know.”

The cat turned to look at Fareeha. She caught its eyes, and frowned. “Me? I don’t know.”

Fareeha took another long drink, and sighed, pushing away the pen and papers. She couldn’t really focus on the work right now. At least none of it was urgent.

She instead regarded the cat thoughtfully. “Who are you, anyways? You have someone to go back to, right?”

The cat, naturally, repositioned its leg instead of responding.

After a while, Fareeha finished her tea and closed her eyes for a long moment. “Let’s call it a night, and we can get you home in the morning, deal?”

The cat blinked slowly in reply.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”


	2. The Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it's Bon. This is my chapter. Please enjoy c:

Fareeha intended to sleep after finishing her herbal tea.

But.

And there was sometimes a but.

An urge seized her half-way through the cup, one that if ignored would persist through the night and wouldn’t allow for a wink of sleep. It was a maddening compulsion to work out, and heed its call she did. She slipped into her gym gear, went to the living room, and was off to do a bit of late-night calisthenics.

As she did a succession of jump squats, Fareeha was reminded to be ever grateful she lived in a house. If she lived in a flat, if she had downstairs neighbors, they surely would’ve filed numerous complaints against her by now.

Correction, against her and her newfound roommate.

Mystery cat, as she had settled on calling her (she had yet to figure out her name), had fed off her energy and was now trying her best to mimic Fareeha's every movement and then some. When the little bugger did a backflip, a bark of a laugh escaped her.

“Slow down, bud. Slow down or you’ll hurt yourself.” She suggested softly, grinning as the cat carried on without so much as an ear twitch to her gentle chidings. Fareeha shook her head and bent down once more, enthusiasm stupidly emboldened. “Well, I ain’t losing to you.”

***

Missy might not be in the café.

Angela checked underneath the chairs, the little hideaways she loved and as far as sections of the café the cat wasn’t allowed to be. She beckoned for her loudly in that certain tone of hers that Missy understood meant serious business, and when still she didn’t turn up a trickle of apprehension seeped into her; a concern that only grew and solidified the moment she pulled out her last resort and no little pitter patter of feet came running to her still. Her lips thinned, for in her hand was Missy’s favorite treat and the girl has _never_ passed an opportunity for it.

She looked out the window gravely. The rain was hard last night, it wasn’t good weather for Missy to have ventured out – dangerous, even. Angela hadn’t forgotten what happened last time.

Quickly, she turned the signage to ‘Closed’, threw on her coat and left, intent to find her cat.

***

Fareeha hugged the cage tighter to her chest.

“No. Bad girl.”

In hindsight, she realized it wasn’t the best idea to bring a cat into the same quarters as a hamster, but it wasn’t like she had a choice. It was too early to take her to the local animal shelter and she couldn’t very well leave her home unattended. If last night’s antics taught her anything, it was that mystery cat had the propensity to become quite the mischievous cat.

“I said no. Stop eyeing him.”

Mystery cat paid her no mind, far too preoccupied with the café’s smallest resident. Hammond was staring right back, curiosity reflected in his beady eyes, blissfully ignorant of how close to danger he was seconds ago sleeping pressed up to the side of the cage.

In her concentration to telepathically communicate how serious she was that Hammond wasn’t a toy, Fareeha failed to hear the chime of the front door and register that another had walked in. That is, until a distinct squeal ripped through the air. Both she and her feline friend (currently enemy) shifted their attention towards the door.

“Oh my god, it’s the café cat!” Brigitte gushed as she bounded over and scooped up mystery cat with one hand. “Hello there, dear.” She cooed and nuzzled her cheek to the cat’s own. “Look at you, you’re a taken care of baby, aren’t you? Oh your fur is so soft.”

Fareeha set the cage down carefully behind her. “Café cat?”

Brigitte nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah! You know, from-” She stopped abruptly and her face transformed from pure joy to that of slight guilt. Her voice became a hushed whisper, laced with hesitance, “The uh, _other_ café.”

Fareeha blinked and leaned back on the counter.

Oh…

Huh.

She crossed her arms as Brigitte’s words sunk in. What a surprising turn of events. After all, what were the chances that of all the cats in the world, she somehow ended up sheltering that woman’s cat?

Wait, hold on.

A pleasant thought crossed her mind, an idea. Fareeha smiled. She had just _sheltered_ Angela’s beloved cat. Maybe, just maybe, she could use this as the perfect opportunity to get on the right foot with the woman.

***

Angela wiped at her eyes haphazardly for the ninth time and cursed the rain. She was already panicking about her missing cat, she was already not a morning person, and this weather simply wasn’t making her search any easier. She looked around and huffed.

Where could Missy have possibly gone?

She had hit all the regular spots the cat often strayed too and nothing, not a glimpse of her little girl. Angela glanced down at her wrist and worried her lip. Two hours, she’d have to wait approximately two more hours before the animal shelter opened.

And what if she wasn’t there? What if Missy was stuck in a ditch somewhere? What if-

Angela breathed in and out slowly a couple times to calm herself. Frenzied worry would do the both of them no good.

The shop, Angela swiveled on her feet, she’d go back to the shop. It’d be better to regroup herself in her warm café than out in the cold and drizzling rain, and if she was lucky, maybe Missy would magically be waiting by the storefront.

***

She should’ve been more specific with her prayers.

Rather than feel ecstatic when she rounded the corner and saw Missy, Angela felt peeved. Why? Because though yes her cat had returned, she was inexplicably bundled up in the jacket of one Fareeha Amari, literally tucked in with only her head peeking out from on top.

For a while Angela didn’t move from where she stood at the corner of the street, irrationally trying to will the sight in front of her away as if it were an illusion. Naturally, the sight didn’t go away, this was reality after all and Angela had to suck it up. With a grumble she walked towards Fareeha, fashioning her expression to one of neutrality best she could along the way.

Fareeha turned before she could say hello, having sensed her presence or heard her footsteps, Angela did not know, what she did know though was that when Fareeha fully faced her, then and there she thought the world unfair. Beyond the fact that she was fresh-faced and sincerely smiling before eight in the morning, the woman just looked so good for some reason. She was dressed in simple jeans and a bomber jacket (and that bomber jacket was currently _misshapen_ due to carrying the added weight of her cat), and yet somehow she still looked so good.

It wasn’t right.

“Angela, hey.” Fareeha greeted, beaming. “I was wondering where you were, because-”

“You found my cat. Thanks.” She interrupted, wanting to keep their interaction to a minimum, already uncomfortable. She reached out for Missy. “Come, come. Let’s go… in… side…”

Her eye twitched as Missy continually avoided her hands to nestle further into Fareeha, and softly gasped in horror when Missy dared to swat her hand away with a paw. Her cat, no worse for wear and uncaring of what she had done, simply purred and shimmied further into Fareeha’s jacket as if she hadn't just committed a great transgression.

Fareeha laughed as her cat continued to snuggle into her.

“Hey that tickles.” Fareeha giggled and gave Missy a little noogie of affection. She then looked back up at Angela and had the decency to appear mildly apologetic. “Sorry, but well, uh, y’know what they say, right?”

“And what’s that?” Angela responded robotically, far too occupied with her right hand. It tingled as she replayed in her head Missy avoiding her grasp, Missy swatting her hand, Missy _choosing_ Fareeha over her.

Angela looked up at her nemesis. Fareeha was grinning.

“If they fits, they sits.”

***

Fareeha’s face felt hot. She briskly walked into her shop and made a beeline for the backroom, raising a hand when Brigitte tried to speak to her from behind the counter, a signal both to not ask and to give her five minutes. She closed the storage behind her softly and worked her jaw.

Why did she say that?

She descended downwards and sat with her lips pressed into a thin line and back firmly against the door. In the privacy of the dimly lit room, Fareeha sat, wishing she could turn back time.

Why the fuck did she say that?

She groaned and closed her eyes. A mistake as behind her eyelids she recalled with perfect detail Angela’s deadened expression at her remark. She let out another long and tired groan and buried her face in her hands.

Her stupid, stupid mouth.

Fuck.

***

“How could you betray me like that?”

Angela was irked, _irked_, by how comfortable her cat appeared in Fareeha Amari’s arms. Sure Missy was friendly by cat standards, however, she certainly didn’t like getting picked up, especially by strangers. And Fareeha was worse than that, she was a rival, an opponent… An adversary.

(Angela squashed the voice in her head that sounded a lot like Hana saying she was being dramatic)

What vexed her most though was that she felt like she knew exactly why Missy was such at ease with Fareeha. She had indeed noticed Missy had come home clean and decidedly not the image of a cat who had spent a night weathering a blistering storm outside. That implied she’d found a safe place to have slept for the night. Fareeha's home probably fit that bill well, and believing her to have stayed there for the night would help explain the comfortableness between the two of them as well. There would be time to... bond.

Angela jutted her lips, unsure of how to feel about the possibility that she may actually owe the woman and the implications that came with how quickly her cat had become taken with her – Missy rarely got along with folks that well and when she did that said something about them.

Something that Angela didn’t really feel like dwelling on.

“Missy this is all your fault.” Angela muttered as a mishmash of feelings bubbled in her, one feeling suspiciously like guilt. She bopped her cat on the head lightly and then waggled her finger at her. “Don’t go fraternizing with the enemy anymore, alright?”

***

Angela wasn’t sure why this was happening to her.

She didn’t even know that cats had a rebellious teenager phase or she would’ve prepared for it. As much as Lena and Hana and the rest of her employees mocked her for this hypothesis (“Angela, are you seriously suggesting Missy is going through some teen spirit right now? She’s 10!”), what else could explain what has been happening for the last few weeks?

Her baby was full-on rebelling.

It was bad enough that since Fareeha brought her back, each time that woman passed by her shop her cat would paw at the glass window for attention and she would have to watch the two of them look forlornly at each other, making her feel like a villain of a story keeping long lost friends apart.

What was infinitely worse though was that her cat had begun a habit of sneaking out. Missy, being the clever girl she was, quickly learned the art of agilely weaving through customers’ feet whenever they entered and exited the shop to slip through the door. The first time she ran out Angela panicked – her girl had never done that before. She was aghast once she learned where Missy was taking day trips too.

It was one thing to leave the shop, however to leave the shop to go see Fareeha Amari?

And to visit her at her _shop_?

Angela scowled briefly then quickly fixed her face. Glaring on the job would not help sales nor customer reviews of her café on the internet. This café was her dream and it would not be ruined simply because her cat had gone rogue.

A customer made a telltale yelp by the door. Angela sucked her teeth. This was the third time this week.

“Lena!”

“What- Aw man! Again?!”

***

Angela’s head was pulsing. The worst of the worst kind of customer had waltzed into her café today and no amount of chamomile tea could alleviate the pounding headache that woman brought with her sheer existence.

It had been some time since she had the displeasure of meeting a “can I speak to the manager” woman of that high a caliber. The woman (Aske? Ashe?) had done all she could to reduce Emily to tears for the gross objective of obtaining everything she ordered for free. If Angela had come a second later she undoubtedly would’ve arrived to the scene of a crime. Lena looked about ready to lunge when she returned from errands, standing between Emily and the woman with balled fists and tremoring with unspoken rage.

After intervening and having to talk to that horrid person herself, Angela felt beyond drained. She couldn’t wait to get home and sleep away her migraine, which was why it felt so good to finally close shop for the day.

“Hi.”

The greeting came from behind her, accompanied after by a soft mewl that Angela knew all too well.

“I wouldn’t lock up just yet if I were you.”

Angela closed her eyes briefly as a surge of frustration went through her body. She turned and bit back a sigh. Standing an arm’s length away was Fareeha Amari and her cat. Fareeha held Missy in outstretched arms, where she hovered between them like both a buffer and a peace offering, and Angela felt a sliver of reprieve at knowing the woman understood they weren’t exactly friends.

“You going to take her?”

“…Yeah. I suppose.” She avoided eye-contact as Fareeha carefully placed Missy into her arms. “I don’t know how she got out this time… Thanks.” She tacked on at the end, remembering her manners.

“No problem.”

Angela hummed and subtly side-eyed her disobedient cat. This was not what she needed right now. She locked up shop merely seconds ago for god’s sake.

And also-

She made a cursory glance at her side as she fished out her keys.

-She didn’t understand why Fareeha was staying. Instead of leaving the woman had made herself comfortable beside her, casually leaning on the wall watching as she began the process of unlocking the shutters.

It was weird.

Angela shook her head. Just focus on the lock, Angela, she berated herself internally, irritation spurred by the throbbing by her temples. The faster she did this, the faster she’d get to go home. The faster she got home, the faster she’d be able to pop an aspirin and get rid of this painful migraine.

Problem was she was running into an issue.

Angela growled, unsure of what exactly was happening and why specifically now. She’d done this a thousand times, yet for some reason she was struggling today. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that her hands were somewhat occupied by a squirming cat, or that she was feeling the pressure to do this faster because she was being watched, or it was simply that Fareeha Amari was there.

It could be all three of those things.

In any case, it only served to make her headache stronger and nothing to show for it. The shutters weren’t opening.

“Want me to re-hold her?”

“It’s fine.” She bit out instinctively. “I can do it.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Fareeha said and Angela didn’t like the bit of skepticism coloring her tone.

Skepticism that became increasingly justified as she continued to fail. Missy wriggled in her arms and Angela huffed, and paused to rub at her temples. God, her head hurt. She just wanted go home, _needed_ to get home, and in this desperation, she swallowed her pride and keeled.

“Actually, yes. Please take her for a bit.”

“Alright. Hey there, little bug.” Fareeha raised her cat high above her head. “Upsy-daisy.”

“Missy.” Angela stated as she went back to work on reopening her shop.

With both hands free, this would be a breeze, she’d get this lock open in two seconds flat. Or not.

It still wasn’t working.

Her skin felt tight, her nostrils flared.

“Hm? What? Did you say something was missing?”

Angela’s eyes narrowed. She was positive she wasn’t using the wrong key. She color-coded her keys to make sure mistakes like that didn’t happen. Although if it wasn’t the wrong key, why wasn’t the key turning and the lock unlocking?

“Missy. Her name. It’s Missy. Not. Little. Bug.” She grunted out as she forced the key, punctuating each word with an attempt to turn. The lock wasn’t budging. Her temple throbbed harder, her aggravation grew, her headache became near splitting. She jostled the key harder, not caring if the damn thing broke in her quest to open the door.

“Missy? Your name is Missy?” Fareeha gushed from beside her in that higher-pitched, cartoony manner people often adopted for pets and babies. The sound of Fareeha’s happiness was grinding. She was in the midst of practically trying to jimmy her lock open, in the wells of frustration, and Fareeha was _happy_.

“Missy. Heh. More like Missile Launcher-”

Angela whipped her head to face Fareeha.

“Missile Launch- You’re so- ugh!” Angela couldn’t even finish her sentence, the aggravation that had been bubbling up insider her finally spilling over. “It’s _Missy_.” She hissed. “I’d never pick a name as stupid as that, you- you-” Her head was absolutely _pounding- _“You dolt!”

She hadn’t meant to say that.

Immediately, guilt and shame rushed into Angela at her outburst.

At first Fareeha just seemed shocked, then her expression changed and the air around her shifted, her brow drew down and the usual gentleness that cloaked her disappeared. A dour expression marred her features.

“Did you just call me a dolt?”

Angela flinched at her tone.

“Hey. I’ve always wanted to ask.” Fareeha’s voice was a low rumble. She took a step forward, eyes hard and sharp as she glowered down at her. “The fuck's your problem?”

***

Angela stared at the ceiling of her darkened room, eyes lazily tracking the slivers of light that bounced off the slats of her windows. She interlaced her hands and rested them on her stomach.

She couldn’t sleep.

She felt-

Bad.

Angela closed her eyes and sighed as the image of Fareeha floated in her head. She should’ve been afraid when the woman loomed over her, angry and done, but what had stunned her at that moment was that flicker of hurt she had seen beneath the rage.

It ate at Angela. She didn’t mean to hurt the woman. She hadn’t even meant to allow her disdain to snowball like this in the first place.

She needed to apologize.

***

Angela was hyper-aware of how suspicious she appeared, loitering at the corner of the street awkwardly wringing her hands. She was nervous though, she couldn’t help it (the double-shot espresso she had this morning was a mistake too - she regretted it). She also understood that she ought to gather her courage quickly though, because she could see a woman through the windowpane of Fareeha’s café with an eyebrow raised, judging.

This was how misunderstandings occurred.

And how she found herself in recent times landing in the town’s local gossip site probably. Whoever that anonymous blogger was, Angela had the misfortune of being their latest target for being not-so-discrete with her tired expressions at witnessing the interactions between Fareeha and her cat. They had catalogued a lot of her grimaces, made up their own story about what was going on.

Ultimately, the whole thing wasn’t a good look for her.

The worst part though was that she couldn’t refute the gossip column’s articles all that much, the things they wrote weren’t terribly far from the truth. Not that she could defend herself even if it wasn’t – the owner of that hellish purple gossip site was anonymous, and Angela wasn’t tech savvy enough to track them.

Anyways, if she wanted to right wrongs it wouldn’t be by hemming and hawing on the corner of the street and thinking about things that didn’t really matter. With a deep breath Angela braced herself and walked across the road to enter Fareeha’s café.

***

The first thing Angela noticed was how nice the place was. It was distinctly different from hers, decorated with brass items, earthier tones, and perfectly imperfect stools and tables made of repurposed wood, a departure from the neat little tables and the lighter pastel shades that adorned her grounds.

The second thing she noticed was Fareeha. The woman was behind the counter, busy whipping up a drink of some kind with a bit of a flair. She watched as she worked, fascinated. Showmanship wasn’t exactly part of the trade nor needed, or at least she hadn’t thought so, but Angela was starting to reconsider that. For a good half minute, the woman hadn’t noticed her. She continued on preparing the drink in hand with purposeful and controlled movements, and Angela continued to watch, intrigued.

And then she did, she noticed Angela, and she froze.

Angela took this as a chance to walk up to her. When she reached the counter, with more gusto than she felt she greeted her.

“Hi.”

Fareeha stared at her, unmoving.

“…Hey.” She finally uttered then held a finger up. “Hold on. I got to finish this.”

With that Fareeha turned briefly away from her to finish the drink she had been preparing. Not recognizing the concoction to be one of the traditional mixes, Angela deduced it must be some sort of special seconds before Fareeha handed it over to one of her employees to serve.

“So…” Fareeha dragged out as she approached her. She slung a towel over her shoulder and rested her hands on the counter to lean on them. Her expression was tempered and guarded as she spoke. “What can I do for you?”

“I’d like your special.” A pause. “And a bit of your time.”

Fareeha’s eyes searched hers, gauging. After a moment, she nodded.

“Okay.”

***

She was surprised Angela was here.

“It’s good.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

Fareeha scratched at her cheek with all four fingers, unsure of what to say next. She tilted her head up and made patterns out of nothing in the clouds above to pass time as the silence stretched.

“What are we doing, Angela?”

“We’re sitting.”

“Yeah, about that,” She took swig of her drink and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand after. “Why?”

_Why are you here?_

Angela adjusted to sit up straighter and there was something melancholic about her suddenly as she gazed at Fareeha. Her lips pulled slightly upwards, though stopping just short of being a true smile.

“I’ve been unfair to you.” She reached out and lightly touched her knee. “I’m sorry for being so rude.”

Fareeha didn’t say anything. While she had been expecting an apology – for why else Angela would come – at the same time she hadn’t, at least not in the depths of her heart. She was a bit struck.

“You don’t have to forgive me. No one would blame you if you didn’t.”

Fareeha couldn’t argue with her there. Angela was right, no one would blame her for not forgiving the woman. She had been short, rude and clipped to her nearly the whole time she was acquainted with her, a short and simple apology wouldn’t render all the micro-aggression null.

And yet.

Yet.

Fareeha felt herself soften as the woman continued to talk. As petty as her reasons were for being brisk with her (all because she had also set up a café? Seriously?), she sounded so genuinely and utterly remorseful that Fareeha couldn’t help a desire to forgive her.

She was a bit of a softie, sue her.

And truth be told, Fareeha also had other reasons to forgive the woman beside her.

It was silly, but she wanted to know her despite all that had transpired. Hana liked her, her cat loved her, and beyond that, she really liked what she saw whenever she had the chance to observe the woman interacting with others around town. The woman seemed lovely around everyone else, and she had a wonderful smile to boot. Fareeha caught it once in a grocery store as the woman was picking out apples and laughing with the salesperson.

She’d like to see that smile directed at her. It’d be nice.

Also, she had the funniest feeling that if they could push past the hostility, she and Angela could be fast friends. There was something about Angela that made Fareeha sure of it, she could feel it in her bones, and her intuition with these sort of things were fairly on the mark most of the time.

Fareeha set her drink aside.

“You want to start over?” She asked abruptly, interrupting Angela in the middle of her long apology. A gamble of an offer. Just because Angela was apologizing for her rude behavior, it didn’t mean that she wanted to be friends. Fareeha smiled lazily at her. “Despite better judgment, I’m forgiving you, in case it wasn’t clear.”

Angela blinked owlishly at her, like she couldn’t believe that Fareeha was giving her a second chance. In all honesty, a part of her couldn’t believe it either. If her mother was around she’d surely be glaring daggers at her for being so light on Angela.

“I’d… I’d really like that.”

Fareeha’s eyes crinkled at the honest way Angela uttered her words.

“Cool, cool.” Fareeha breathed out then cleared her throat and pretended to look introspective. “I’m sorry too, by the way.”

Angela frowned. Confusion marred her face.

“For what?”

“For stealing your cat all the time.”

Angela relaxed and waved her off. “No, its okay, I understand-”

“-And that Missile Launcher loves me more than she loves you.”

Angela stiffened. Fareeha bit the inside of her cheek. It was like playing with fire, and equally as fun.

“Take that back. And do not call her that.”

“Mm okay.” She relented, then shrugged in a blasé manner. “Only if you admit I have the better shop.”

Fareeha could feel it. Fareeha could _feel_ it. She took a sidelong glance at Angela and it took all the willpower in her not to laugh. The woman was struggling, absolutely and irrefutably struggling not to blow up at her, trying her hardest to keep calm because she wanted to turn a new leaf between them, and to fail not two minutes after making that first step would simply not do – not in that prideful woman’s book.

Angela’s cheeks were puffed, she was pouting and Fareeha couldn’t help the easy smile that stretched on her lips as she observed Angela sulk.

Cute.


	3. The Rumour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I am rather slow at writing. (I was only slightly distracted by Rise of Kyoshi. You won't believe how much quicker it is to read something.) Hope you enjoy this!

Olivia took off her hoodie as she entered the café. She loved wearing them, so the autumn weather suited her perfectly. She took a glance around. Some familiar faces, some new ones, Angela busy behind the counter, Emily taking an order. But what caught her eye was Hana chatting with Brigitte, her drink just served. _ Curious. _

It was times like these that she blessed becoming a freelance programmer. She always loved soap operas, but when it played out right before her eyes, it was so much more exciting. Whenever she could spare some time, she dove into the local gossip and blogged about it. Today was one of those times.

"Can I sit here?" she asked Brigitte, not really waiting for a response.

"Sure, of course." They both looked at her. Brigitte with her usual friendliness, Hana slightly miffed at the interruption.

She leaned forward, almost whispering: "So, what's with you two being friendly in here? Did Angela forget her no fraternisation rule?"

They both sighed. "Well, she's trying to be better about it, at least?" Brigitte replied. "The other day she came over to apologise for that whole thing. But five seconds later Fareeha decided to poke the bear. She can't help it sometimes."

"It has been a constant back and forth since then." Hana added. "Angela can't resist a challenge like that, and she's trying very hard not to be the one who blows up. Speaking of, I should get back to work. Anything you want to drink?"

Olivia got her usual, a black coffee with a dash of a local cherry brandy. Her mind was already racing with possibilities, all the directions this situation could develop from here. She got what she could out of Brigitte, then said she needed to go back to work. _ This was exciting. _

***

Later that day, Angela went to get Missy back once again. In the square, she was met with the usual bustle. A group of Chinese tourists listened to a tour guide talk about the old town house, one of them refilling their bottle at the fountain. An American family left the gift shop, deciding where they want to write their postcards. Kids on the way home from school chased after the pigeons. A bicycle clattered and jingled across the cobbled street. Through all that, she only saw Fareeha when they stood right in front of each other, halfway between their cafés.

"Earth to Angela, have you noticed me yet?" Fareeha grinned. Missy sat in her arm, nuzzling her neck.

_ That must be comfortable, _ Angela thought. "Um, no, I couldn't see you behind the… smugity-smug." she said. _ Nice save, idiot. _

A snort danced through Fareeha's face, pursing her lips, crinkling the nose, diverted away and released through bulged eyes. "If that's how it's gonna be, I'll just keep lil Mistletoe with me. It's not like she would willingly hang out with such a meanie."

_ No. _ Angela couldn't allow her such an easy victory. She had to stay calm. She put on her nicest customer service smile. "Ah, now you're openly trying to steal her away? I'm terribly sorry, but I can't allow that." 

She reached over to grab Missy, but Fareeha turned away, scritching the cat's head. One indignant mouthgape later, Angela went for it again, but Fareeha kept dodging. Angela made another attack, Fareeha escaped again. This went on for a minute or two, until Fareeha had her back against the fountain.

"Hah! Caught you!" Angela grinned and stepped quickly forward. Fareeha couldn't evade in time. The reaching hands landed on her shoulders. Their faces were only a few centimetres apart. Neither of them dared to make a move.

In that moment, Missy decided she had enough of this, jumped off and vanished into the crowd. They laughed it off.

Meanwhile, in one of the streets (roads? paths?) leading to the square, Olivia was leaning out of her window, camera in her hand. _ How lucky that I had it ready. This is definitely going on the blog. _

***

Fareeha was awaited by the grinning faces of Lúcio and Zarya. _ Sigh. _

"You has a fun dance out there, yes?" Zarya almost shouted from behind the counter. "Not much longer until a love confession, I think."

Fareeha rolled her eyes.

"You two looked ready to devour each other!" Lúcio chimed in. "And the only thing holding you back was the people around you!"

Fareeha rolled her eyes into the stratosphere.

"As long as I can be bridesmaid I approve." Zarya gave a thumbs up.

"Ooh, me too, me too!" Lucio almost hopped.

Fareeha rolled her eyes across the universe. "Yeah, yeah, I promise. Now get back to work, you scamps!"

Their repeated poking gave Fareeha occasional thoughts about a potential relationship. She wasn't necessarily against it, but in the current situation she just couldn't see it. They had a peace treaty, yes, but Angela was still acting awkward around her. Perhaps like a hyena with a hurt pride who wants to get it back by force. And her last couple dating attempts all fizzled out, so she's not really in the mood for another one. And with both of them owning coffee shops, how could it even work out? They would constantly correct each other on how to do things. _ Nah, this is just too impractical. _

***

Angela was fuming. Her perfectly good saturday had been ruined. She stared at her phone, at the garish purple-pink gossip site. (Of course it was Hana who sent her the link. Who else could it be.) Somebody made a suggestive photo of their collision, and wrote a load of _ twaddle _ to accompany it. A romantic relationship? With _ her? _ About as likely as moon gorillas.

"Earth to Angela, please respond." Satya said.

"What?" She couldn't hold back a little scowl.

"There are customers, and I could use some help." Satya pointed at the list of orders. A small group of tourists had just come in. Angela sighed, put her phone away and got to work.

"You … your thoughts seem busy." Satya said, never stopping her hands.

"It's that _ damn _ website again. They just keep posting this … _ nonsense _ about me and Fareeha." Angela threw her hands in the air. "I wish they would just stop, but I have no idea how to make them."

Satya thought for a second. "Maybe, if you can't stop it, come to peace with it?"

"Come to peace with lies? How is that supposed to work?" Angela squinted at her.

“No, I mean, you’re always so tense around Fareeha.” Satya said. “She made you a peace offering. You accepted it, at least with your words. But despite that, you keep acting like she’s your rival. It seems to me like your heart hasn’t accepted the peace.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “Well, even if that is the case, how is it connected to this gossip?”

Satya shrugged. “It’s simple, really. You don’t really know how you stand with Fareeha now, because you haven’t bothered to find it out. As a result, you are insecure about it, you fall into old patterns, and whenever there’s the suggestion that things might change, you get agitated.”

Angela scoffed. “Well, wouldn’t you get agitated if they speculated about your love life?”

Satya looked at her. “You can’t stop people from talking, whether it’s on a website or somewhere else. All I’m saying is, think about how you _ want _ to act towards Fareeha. Also, your cup is flowing over.”

“Oh shi-...!”

***

Angela couldn’t sleep. It had been a busy day behind the counter, and going through the week’s finances took longer than usual. Then she drowned herself in cheap food, cheap wine and cheap TV until she felt tired enough to go to bed. Despite that, she couldn’t close an eye.

She couldn’t forget Satya’s advice. They both had cafés, on the same square in the same town. Obviously their businesses are competing for the same audience. How did she take this and turn it into personal animosity?

She sighed and went to get a glass of water. She sneaked into the kitchen, as if not to wake anyone up. _ Who could even hear me? I live alone. _ The cups clattered against each other as she took one out, and the cupboard closed with a soft thud.

Would she be equally combative if someone else opened a café there? Perhaps. She was first on the square. Seven years ago on a summer day, drizzle, the air damp from the warm pavement, that’s when she opened her café. Well, she took it over from the previous owners, but with all her renovations it felt like a completely new place. Over time it grew into a second home, just like she wanted to. Some employees went and new ones came, but the place was always full of heart. This peace lasted for five years, until Fareeha opened her place.

She went on the balcony to get some fresh air. It was surprisingly warm for the season. The street lights gave everything a pale orange shimmer, and the moon was only a few days away from being empty. A cat walked through the streets below. She sat down on her chair. The wood was slightly cold, without distracting too much.

Fareeha never did anything to attract her ire. When her coffee shop opened, she sent invitations for coffee and cake to all surrounding shop owners. She greeted with a happy smile every time. Only few people radiate so much genuine warmth. Was it jealousy, perhaps? It would be the first time Angela noticed that in herself. Perhaps she should look closer at that next time they meet.

A car drove past, twirling up some leaves. A breeze went by, giving Angela slight chills. She had to choose between listening to distant sounds and curling up under a warm blanket. She decided for the latter, to at least try to keep up some sort of schedule. Thoughts could wait for another day.

***

The next day, Angela woke up to crows and gulls screeching loud enough to hear through her windows. The sun was already rising. She looked at her phone, 7:30. A bit early for a Sunday, perhaps. She turned over and tried to nap a bit longer. A vague memory of last night’s thoughts ran through her head. Was it still actually possible to turn this situation into something more positive, with all the things she has said? Her mind kept running in circles, any further sleep was impossible. She needed to clear her thoughts. A bath? A walk? A hike? Hiking sounded good.

An hour later, with a few improvised sandwiches and other snacks, her hiking boots freed of cobwebs, standing at the bottom station of the gondolas, Angela started her ascent. The first half she will walk, the second half ride up, she had decided. That was enough exercise to get some fresh air and let all worries go out, and at the end she would still get the nice view from the top.

The forest air was still chilly from the night, softened by the scent of pine. The crunch of her gravelly steps cut through the rustling of trees. She didn’t see anyone. The enthusiasts probably came much earlier, and the families would still take some time to get their kids ready. That was fine with her.

Her mind focused on pure observation. The damp air, a hint of fog shimmering through the distance. The small brook splashing through a hidden crevice. An occasional chirp or squeak or rustle or snapping twig. The gentle waves of moss across the ground. The way her muscles balanced her across the root-riddled soil. Her breathing, the bobbing of her body, the small pearls of sweat forming on her forehead. The gentle claps of her backpack’s loose straps.

The forest opened up and ended in an instant. The sun-warmed meadow and the smell of wild flowers embraced Angela gently. She opened her jacket. As she crossed over the next ridge, she saw the gondola’s middle station coming closer. She sat down on a bench, looking over the landscape below.

There was some sense of guilt in her chest, she didn’t exactly know where it came from. Of course Satya’s comments had something to do with it, but these things don’t usually affect her that much. She would think about them for half an evening, come to a rationalisation and be done with it. What was different this time, why did it not come so easy to her? Was it possible that --

“Well, hello there!” a familiar voice said behind her.

Angela turned her head around. Of course it was Fareeha. Who else could show up for a chance meeting when she wanted to be alone. She came over and sat down.

“Why are _ you _ here?” Angela asked, an eyebrow raised.

Fareeha chuckled. “This is how I usually spend my sunday. As far as I’m aware, you’re the one invading my territory.” She took a sip from her sports bottle.

“Oh, am I now?” Angela had to hold herself back from putting scorn into her words, so it just came out kind of awkward.

“Yes,” Fareeha gestured with her bottle, “so I’m much more justified to ask about you being here.”

Angela turned, resting one arm on the backrest. “Well, you won’t believe what I’m about to say, but I’m here to do some hiking.”

Fareeha grinned. “Ah, you want to conquer the peak as well?”

“Yes, that was the plan.” No, it wasn’t, but Angela couldn’t possibly back down from a challenge like this.

“Well then.” Fareeha put her bottle away. “We shouldn’t waste too much time if we want to get there for lunch. I’m already running a bit late today.”

They continued the ascent. Angela could already feel tomorrow’s legs aching.


	4. The Hike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a while since I wrote for Pharmercy, huh?  
Enjoy :)

Fareeha watched the scene before her, lips twitching upward, dangerously close to smiling. She kept a good distance behind Angela after she realized that Angela struggled to keep up with her pace. Angela took one step for every one and a half of hers. By the time Angela’s cheeks glowed red, Fareeha decided to slow it down, considerably.

And another thing.

Because Angela kept looking back every so often, Fareeha had to tone down the amusement threatening to break free. Instead, she gave a small wave and a crooked grin every time their eyes locked, pressing her lips together when Angela would snap her head forward.

With enough time between keeping up appearances, Fareeha couldn’t help her wandering thoughts. By now, they could have been friends. They _should_ have been friends. She had always shown Angela kindness and respect. Hell, she even liked Angela’s coffee. Hana would bring some on occasion, getting a rise out of serving the “enemy’s” brew to her crew.

Angela looked behind again, frown firmly set and hands clutching hard to the straps of her bag. She kept their gaze a little longer, blue eyes narrowing at the little wave Fareeha gave. She focused forward again.

What if Fareeha got out of the coffee game? She could convert her café to a juice shop. Make some quality juice. Peach-strawberry would be her signature drink. Then she’d only be rivals with that health food store across town and she could bring Angela some tasty juice to mend their rocky relationship. Fareeha nearly snorted at the thought.

Tasty juice my ass.

Fareeha collided with something. She stepped back, eyes growing wide when she realized she bumped into a person. Angela, who looked at her with an ever-growing frown and had her arms crossed.

“Sorry about that,” Fareeha rubbed at her arm, “I should have paid more attention.”

“You’re messing with me.”

Fareeha blink. “Uh, come again?”

Angela squirted some water from her bottle into her mouth, wiping at the corner of her lips before speaking again. “You’re faster than me.”

“Well-”

“-But then suddenly you just decide to hang back and, and...”

“Because-”

Angela lifted her arms and waved her hands in the air, “-Stare!”

Fareeha raised a hand, index finger sticking up to help prove the point she had yet to explain. “I was not staring.” A pause. “Well, maybe-”

“-You made it seem like you were running late but now it’s like you have all the time in the world.” Angela crossed her arms again. “You’re messing with me.”

Don’t laugh. Don’t smile. “I’m not messing with you.” Fareeha feigned interest in a distant tree to keep her composure under control. That pout Angela had plastered on her face made Fareeha want to grin like crazy.

“Then what are you doing?”

Fareeha blushed. All of her explanations were incriminating. I noticed you were slower than me so I made it so you didn’t have to keep up. I was thinking about the state of our relationship. I found your reactions amusing so I might have stared a bit. “Uh.”

Angela shook her head. She turned away from Fareeha and continued down the trail.

Shit. Fareeha stumbled over her feet as she scrambled to catch up with Angela. She reached out and put a hand on Angela’s shoulder. “Hey, look. I’m sorry.” Relief flooded her veins when Angela stopped to listen. “I know we said we’d start over but this isn’t the way to do it.”

Angela’s frown lightened up a fraction. “No, it’s not.”

Fareeha braved a smile. “We’re almost at the peak, how about we eat lunch together and work on starting over?”

The corner of Angela’s lips twitched. She dropped her arms and let out a held breath. “Alright, yeah.”

***

At the peak, Angela found a patch of ground for her and Fareeha to have lunch. With no one in sight, it felt like they were alone. Taking her backpack off, Angela pulled out her food. Two small chicken curry sandwiches she made from leftovers, a little container of a cut-up apple, and a small bag of nuts and dried fruit to pair with the water she brought. She eyed Fareeha’s food. A big sandwich and two thermoses.

Satya’s words came to mind. Think about how you _want _to act towards Fareeha. The hike up there was a less than ideal show of how she wanted to act. Angela couldn’t shake off her competitive nature, to begin with. And then she got angry. But she didn’t have to stay that way, especially with Fareeha so willing to try.

“Want some?”

Angela looked up from the bag of mixed nuts in her hands at Fareeha’s question. Fareeha had a small paper cup held out for her to take. Coffee. Angela accepted the offered cup. She took a sip, enjoying the smell as the rim of the cup touched her lips.

“Still good?” asked Fareeha.

God, Fareeha was just too… Good. Angela breathed out a sigh. “Yeah.”

Silence. Thinking about how she’d act vs doing it were two different things. Angela could almost see it, the still soundwaves hanging awkwardly in the air while no one spoke a word.

And then Fareeha had to bring _that _up.

“Did you see the photos on that one site?” Fareeha stuffed as much sandwich into her mouth, unaware of the hanging jaw Angela sported.

“I… Did.”

“They were nice photos.” Another bite. “Don’t you think so?”

Angela felt the heat creeping up her face. Because there weren’t _just _photos. “About as nice as the writing that went with it.”

“Oh Angela, if you don’t kiss me right now, my heart will burst from all the pent-up love I have for you.” Fareeha put a hand to her forehead and faked a swoon. “That’s what they had me say, right?” Fareeha made no effort to hide her grin, unlike before on the trail.

“My darling, I could never leave you to such a fate.” The exaggerated words left Angela’s lips before she could truly think about what she was doing. She couldn’t help her smile when she heard Fareeha laugh at her line.

“It reads like one of those trashy romance novels set somewhere vaguely European.”

“The kind you only read by yourself at 3 AM because you know it’s bad but you just don’t care.”

Fareeha straightened up, grinning wide. “Yeah, and when someone finds it at your house, you _have_ to lie about it being left by a friend.”

Angela checked out the space around them. She scooted closer to Fareeha and beckoned with her hand for Fareeha to lean in. Cupping her hand around her mouth, Angela spoke in Fareeha’s ear as if her words could only be heard by none other. “But then it turns out that same someone is reading that exact book.”

Backing away a bit, Fareeha looked at Angela with wide eyes and pressed lips trembling with a suppressed reaction. She leaned forward, bracing her arms against her thighs as she laughed. Tears streamed down her cheeks the longer it went on. “That-” Fareeha pressed an arm to her stomach, “that happened to me with my mother. She came to visit one day and found it on the kitchen counter. Not only had she read that one, she read the _entire_ series. I was mortified for days.”

Maybe starting over wasn’t so bad.

Angela couldn’t hold in her laugh. In the same boat as Fareeha, Angela had to wipe at her eyes before speaking. “A friend found mine. Satya, she works with me. She only made one comment after opening it to where I placed my bookmark.”

“What’d she say?” Fareeha had her head propped up by her arm and leaned in slightly closer, eager to hear Angela’s response.

Angela cleared her throat. “I’m three chapters ahead of you.”

***

Fareeha couldn’t stop smiling. Lunch had gone great. They couldn’t stop talking once she broke the ice. She blurted the first thing that came to mind: that cheesy entry about them on that gossip site. It went surprisingly well. She thought that the hike down might revert to how it was earlier: silent, awkward, and filled with underlying tension. But it didn’t.

“So I told Missy, ‘Next time you tip over a customer’s drink, no more treats. Ever.’” Angela had stopped to wave a finger at a nearby chunk of rock to illustrate her story.

“Did she do it again?”

Angela gave a stretched smile. “She swats at sugar packets instead because she found out they crinkle.” A shrug. “It’s better than having to remake drinks.”

“My little Misfit causing so much trouble.” Fareeha laughed at the exaggerated roll of Angela’s eyes.

Angela opened her mouth, getting a syllable out before slipping on a patch of slick moss.

Fareeha’s eyes went wide. She chased after Angela’s tumbling form, grabbing onto her hand before she collided with a tree. The momentum lurched her forward but she bent her knees and dug her heels into the ground to keep her balance.

On her back, Angela had her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth clenched. Fareeha helped her up against the tree, worried eyes checking for visible injuries. A couple scrapes and minor bleeding on Angela’s arms. “Talk to me. Are you okay?” asked Fareeha.

Angela groaned.

Fareeha pulled off her bag and rummaged for the first aid kit she had. She grabbed it from the bottom of her bag with the tips of her fingers and yanked it free. “You think anything broke?”

Angela shook her head. “No, it’s my ankle. I think it’s sprained.” She untied the boot to her left foot and tried to pull it off. “Guess these old boots were more worn out than I thought.” Angela heaved out a sigh when her boot refused to budge.

Fareeha put the first-aid kit down beside Angela and reached for the stubborn boot. Loosening the laces, Fareeha widened the boot enough to pull the injured foot free. “Is it okay if I take a look?” At the quiet ‘yes’, from Angela, Fareeha pulled off Angela’s sock. Definitely swollen.

“Your foot’s not looking too good right now,” Fareeha opened her first aid kit and pulled out a roll of bandages, “but I’ll get you fixed up.” She worked on wrapping the foot, wanting to alleviate some of the pain as quickly as she could. When she finished, Fareeha had one question left for Angela. “Need me to carry you?”

Angela’s cheeks lit up red. She used the tree as support to help herself up. “No, no, I can walk.” As soon as she put pressure on her foot, she winced in pain. “As soon as I get some rest.”

Fareeha frowned. “And how long do you think that’ll take?”

“As long as it takes.” Angela sat down and found interest in the small patch of grass beside her, picking at the green blades with stiff movements.

“Angela… I’m not going to leave you here by yourself.”

Angela patted the ground beside her. “Then take a seat.”

Fareeha squatted down in front of Angela. She narrowed her eyes, staring at the defiant woman who refused to meet her gaze. “We’re getting out of here.” Her quick hands tossed Angela’s boot into Angela’s lap and then she scooped the other woman up into her arms.

“Put. Me. Down.” Angela tried to push away from Fareeha, finding that her actions practically did nothing. It was like being pelted by a teddy bear.

“Can’t do that.”

“I can walk back myself.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Fareeha.”

Fareeha stopped. She looked down at Angela and gave her a small frown. “Just enjoy the ride. We’ll be back in no time. Then I’ll put you down.”

Angela crossed her arms and looked away from Fareeha. “Fine.”

They were fine. Getting along. _Having a good day._ Fareeha had no idea why Angela suddenly clammed up but she was hellbent on fixing it.

“You know, if you offered to carry me, I would have said yes,” said Fareeha.

Angela pressed a hand to her face and snorted. “I doubt I could even do it.”

“Why not?”

“Just look at you.” Angela glanced at Fareeha before snapping her head back.

“Most hiking trails don’t have mirrors.”

Another laugh. “I mean, you’re _built_. And taller than me. And… And…”

“Incredibly good-looking?”

“Ye-” Angela slapped a hand over her mouth.

“What was that?” Angela totally said yes. Fareeha just wanted her to admit it.

“Nothing.”

“Could have sworn I heard you say yes.”

“Could have sworn I said nothing.”

Fareeha laughed and shook her head. “So, what, you’re saying I’m _not_ incredibly good-looking?”

Angela pursed her lips and kept quiet.

“You know, silence tells me a lot.”

“Or silence is just silence.”

Fareeha shrugged as best she could with Angela in her arms. “Maybe.” Angela was a tough nut to crack. She switched tactics. “How built am I?”

Angela tapped her chest, suddenly caught in a coughing fit. “Fareeha.”

“Hm?”

“I said yes, happy? I do think you are _very_ good-looking. Who wouldn’t?” Angela mumbled that last part under her breath.

Happy? Most definitely. But it was also Fareeha’s turn to go quiet. Her ears burned hot and her heart thrummed loudly in her throat. To say the least, Angela had caught her off guard.

***

Angela didn’t even try to hide the smirk she had at Fareeha’s silence. Served Fareeha right. Making Angela admit things she _may_ have thought about on occasion. That is, when she wasn’t busy drumming up their, admittedly, one-sided rivalry.

Despite laughing at that ridiculous gossip post, Angela still had reservations about getting too close to Fareeha. It stirred up some feelings, feelings she very much tried to not have for Fareeha. And that was why she refused Fareeha’s offer at first. Angela had the terrifying thought that she might enjoy the experience and that certainly wouldn’t do. Fareeha proved persistent, as she always has, and there Angela found herself completely right: being in Fareeha’s arms was decidedly nice. Though, gaining the upper hand on Fareeha? Nicer.

A distant laugh brought Angela out of her thoughts. And then panic set in. They were almost at the bottom and there were people everywhere. She didn’t know exactly who posted those photos of her and Fareeha but it would be just her luck they decided to go for a hike too.

“Here is fine. I think I’m good to walk the rest of the way,” said Angela.

Fareeha raised an eyebrow. “I can take you to the train.”

Please don’t. “It’s okay, just put me down please.”

Fareeha set Angela down, keeping a supporting arm around Angela’s shoulders. “You sure you can walk?”

Angela put pressure on her bad foot and winced. She dropped her boot to the ground and gingerly slipped her foot inside, thinking that the support from the shoe might help with the pain. It helped a fraction. The best she could do was clench her jaw and bear it. “Yes, I can walk.” Angela ignored the worried eyes trained on her ankle and set on walking.

But she didn’t get too far.

Angela felt her ankle roll. Trying anything to keep herself from falling, Angela spun around and grabbed the nearest thing. Fareeha. Both of them went tumbling to the ground.

Pain. Lots of pain. But there was something else. Something soft and warm. Even with the unbearable pounding in her head, Angela managed to open her eyes. And she found Fareeha above her, eyes squeezed shut and her lips pressed against Angela’s.

Shit.

***

Olivia woke up that morning wanting to have a great day. Caught up on all her projects, she decided that some exercise wouldn’t kill her. Get some fresh air.

Or as it turned out, fresh gossip.

She couldn’t believe it. After hopping off the bus, she spotted Angela and Fareeha talking at the bottom of the peak. Olivia remembered all the buzz from her last post and grinned ear to ear. She brought her camera with her.

And what a great day she had.

A photo of an intimate picnic. A tender moment wrapping up an injured foot. Fareeha being chivalrous and carrying Angela the rest of the way down. And of course, the magnum opus: their passionate kiss.

She had no idea if any of that was true but as soon as Olivia got home, she made damn well sure that was the picture being painted.

Post ready to share, Olivia sat back in her chair and let out a relaxed sigh as she clicked on her bright pink upload button. “I love what I do.”

Her post already generated 50 hits. She got a laugh at the heart-eyes left as comments. Some of them remarked on the nice quality of the photos. Olivia managed to get close enough to get some good shots in. 

And now that she thought about it, there was one question left unanswered.

How come they didn’t notice her?

There were plenty of times where she stepped on a twig or alerted everything within a two-kilometer radius with how loud the crunch of dead leaves gave away her position. Hell, she even slipped a couple times trying to get a good angle.

Olivia shook her head. “Too busy noticing each other.”

After replying to a few comments and stretching her arms out, Olivia got out of her chair and grabbed her hoodie. The comments were nice but the true reward was the front row seat she had to watch it all unfold.

Olivia left a note for her roommate who never left her room during the day to text her if she needed anything. That woman hardly ever spoke, was probably an assassin for hire, and Olivia would always find a strand of that long hair on the couch. But damn was she hot. So Olivia never said a damn thing when she’d get a text that only said ‘rope’ or ‘duct tape’.

“Think I’ll pop in at Amari’s first.”

Locking the door behind her, Olivia headed out with the biggest grin on her face.


	5. The Ruse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it's aizia, here is chapter 5. Hope you enjoy :)

Angela woke up to two missed calls from Lena, one from Emily, and three texts from Hana.

_Uhh Angie_

_ Have you seen this yet? _

Dread pooled in Angela’s stomach. _ Oh no. _

She tapped the link and hastily scrolled through purple paragraphs of text, and—

_Fuck._

Peppered throughout the entry were photos of that day: a picture of them eating sandwiches on the grass, one of Fareeha wrapping up Angela’s ankle, another of her carrying Angela in her arms.

But it was the photos of their “kiss” Angela lingered on. In the first, they had been captured from a profile view: Angela’s visible eye was open in surprise, lips unmistakably pressed against Fareeha’s face, in the spot where her cheek met her mouth. Fareeha’s brows were furrowed, likely in concern, though Angela could see how one might read it as passion with context stripped away.

In the second, Fareeha’s eyes were closed reflexively. Her arm was raised but cropped out of frame, leaving it ambiguous where her hand rested, but there was a lingering suggestion that it wound around Angela’s back in a comforting embrace.

Angela stared at the fine hairs that lined Fareeha’s hairline, the faint freckles visible on her own cheeks. How on earth had someone taken photos so high definition from a place far enough away Angela hadn’t noticed them?

Their timing was… as impeccable as Angela’s was unfortunate.

She knew, theoretically, that she should be angry, but at whom?

_Herself? _ Her eyes wandered to her still-swollen ankle. _ Possibly._

_Fareeha?_

She saw her easy smiles in the back of her mind: the little spark she’d get in her eyes when she dealt out a tease or told a bad joke. Angela’s chest deflated.

_No—not anymore._

_An anonymous blogger with too much time on their hands?_

Angela let her head fall back against the pillow and groaned in the back of her throat.

She had a shift this morning.

***

Normally, when Angela opened on Saturday mornings, she had enough time to leisurely make her own cup of coffee (and maybe play some music to pump herself up) before customers began to trickle in.

Today she barely had time to assemble the machinery before a line formed at the counter.

By 11, the line nearly stretched to the door, and she couldn’t even afford to stop making drinks long enough to bus the tables. She winced every time she fast-walked behind the counter to make an espresso shot or open a new carton of milk, her still-tender ankle protesting angrily.

During the slight lunch-time lull, Angela propped her phone up with her shoulder while feverishly wiping the counters. Mercifully, Lena picked up on the second ring.

“Do you mind coming in for a few hours?” Angela asked. “I don’t think I can handle this myself, with my ankle…”

“I’ve got ya, boss.”

Angela exhaled in relief. “Thanks, Lena.” She looked through the glass of the shop’s walls. “Is there an event in town today? I’ve never seen it this busy on a Saturday.”

“Don’t think so. Pretty sure that local blog has just given you some publicity.”

“Gopfertammisiech,” Angela muttered.

She could hear the grin in Lena’s voice. “You should go on dates with Fareeha more often.”

“It wasn’t a d—”

Then Angela paused, gears suddenly turning. The cleaning cloth went limp in her hands. _ If… _ she frowned. _ Well… _

_Could they…?_

“I’ll be there in ten,” Lena said, and Angela snapped herself back to the present.

When they hung up, Angela rung the cloth out in the sanitizer bucket and left the counter to retrieve some used dishes from the tables.

She would need to talk to Fareeha this evening.

***

Fareeha was glad she had Zarya working with her that day; the shop had been uncommonly busy in the morning and afternoon.

But before long, the sun began to set, and the dark bite of evening settled into the air. The flow of customers began to dwindle until only one woman remained in a corner, dutifully punching away on a keyboard.

As the shop fell into a habitual quiet, Fareeha had more and more time to think about Angela.

She had only just made some strides building their friendship; she had coaxed a few genuine, eye-crinkling laughs out of Angela, and the ever-present frown she wore in Fareeha’s company had noticeably softened.

But now…

She feared the chasm between them would widen again, out of her arms’ reach.

Angela tumbling downhill replayed in her mind over and over. Though she doubted she could have convinced Angela to _ not _ join her on the hike even if she’d tried, she couldn’t help but feel partly responsible for her injuries. She hadn’t been wearing proper footwear. Fareeha let herself sigh; she hoped Angela wasn’t working herself too hard today.

Zarya placed a large hand on Fareeha’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, Amari?”

Fareeha blinked, realizing she had stopped washing the dishes minutes ago. “Just… worried about Angela.”

Zarya took a moment to apparently mull this over. “I’m sure she’s doing fine, now that you kissed her better,” she grinned.

Fareeha tossed a dish towel in Zarya’s direction and rinsed a few dirty spoons before plopping them into the washing sink. She continued to absently sterilize until interrupted by the ring of the shop’s bell a few minutes later. The dishes were forgotten at the sight of a weary but purposeful Angela limping into the store.

Fareeha eyed Zarya then, who winked and waved her hand noncommittally, giving her permission to leave.

Fareeha dried her hands on her apron and fumbled to untie it before she reached the door.

“Fareeha,” Angela said, searching her eyes.

“I know.”

Angela scanned the room. “Walk with me?”

Fareeha held the door for her as they left the shop. She watched Angela limp in concern. “You don’t want to find someplace to sit?”

“Just not in the café,” she admitted quietly. “I don’t live far from here—we could walk to my apartment.”

Fareeha raised a brow. “How long is the walk?”

“Just twelve minutes or so.”

Fareeha eyed her ankle skeptically. “Let me drive you home.”

Angela’s shoulders slumped a little. “Fine.”

Fareeha opened her mouth and then closed it; she’d been prepared for a stubborn refusal. Almost afraid to say anything in case she ruined this rare moment, she helped Angela into the car silently.

After one left turn and one right, they pulled into Angela’s blue-grey apartment complex. Fareeha parked in a visitor spot and Angela pressed the button for the third floor once they got into the elevator.

Fareeha tapped her leg as they waited in silence. A dozen possibilities of what Angela might want to talk about came to her mind, none very conducive to a budding friendship. There was a very real possibility that Angela might want distance, perhaps permanently. Her heart sped up at that.

When had she become so invested in this?

She followed Angela into the hallway when they reached her floor, stopping when Angela stopped, watching her take her keys out of her blouse pocket and open the door.

She accompanied Angela inside and found a simply decorated apartment with some usual lived-in clutter; a couple of blankets were crinkled on the couch, and a few dishes were stacked in the sink. There was a faint smell of something spiced, like a candle had been left on the day before.

Missy emerged from a green-roofed cat bed and rubbed against Fareeha’s calf as they entered the living room. “I usually take her home on Friday nights and bring her back for the Saturday morning shift, but I had to leave her here today,” Angela explained. “Wasn’t sure I could handle her _ and _ the customers with my ankle.”

Fareeha pet the cat’s short fur while Angela put the kettle on. Fareeha got up from her crouch and sat down on the couch eventually; Missy hopped up and curled beside her.

“Is mint alright?” Angela asked, pouring hot water into two mugs.

Missy blinked slowly at Fareeha, as if awaiting her response. “Mint is great.”

Angela placed the two mugs on the low table in the living room and sat down on an armchair across from Fareeha.

“So.”

“So?” Fareeha ventured.

“Did you notice that our shops were particularly busy today?”

Whatever Fareeha had expected her to open with, it wasn’t that. “Yeah, actually. Thought there might have been a game going on at city centre, or a big concert or something—”

Angela swallowed her sip of tea. “There wasn’t.” Her eyes strayed to the kitchen behind Fareeha. “That blog gave us some local publicity.”

Fareeha ran a hand through her hair and laughed a little nervously, unsure where she was going with this. “I see.”

Angela fiddled with the handle of her mug. “I was thinking we could… use that publicity. I mean, competition will only grow stiffer with the American chains that have been opening in the area, and a lot of local places are struggling. It’s pretty harmless in the long run, isn’t it? And it would only help both of us...”

Fareeha blinked, and something clicked into place. “So you’re saying…”

“Yes.”

“Honestly Angela? I thought you were going to tell me you didn’t want to see me anymore.” Fareeha laughed, partly in relief. “You want me to pretend we’re publicly dating for business.”

“Yes?”

She eyed Angela sitting across from her, in a blouse with the first few buttons undone, flyaways framing her face from the bun she would have put in hours ago. She wore a small smile that was equal parts hopeful and hesitant and Fareeha was weak.

Very, very weak.

“Sure,” she heard herself say.

_Fuck._

***

Angela was a little out of breath by the time she opened her apartment’s door the following Thursday; she hadn’t quite finished curling her hair when Fareeha had texted that she’d arrived.

Fareeha stood in her hallway as promised, in a black blazer, white button-up shirt, and black pants. She smiled at Angela. “You look nice.”

Angela had spent some extra time on her appearance that evening: applying her lipstick just so and rummaging around in her closet for a dress that was a little nicer than something she might normally wear. “Thank you,” she smiled, reaching out to adjust the left side of Fareeha’s collar, which was slightly folded over, taking a moment to appreciate Fareeha dressed up. “So do you.”

Fareeha waggled her brows. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”

Angela bit down a grin as she took Fareeha’s arm. “Very funny.”

When they left the apartment complex, Fareeha removed her arm and offered Angela her hand. Angela tangled their fingers together, finding Fareeha’s hand softer than expected.

“What hand lotion do you use?” Angela asked.

Fareeha blinked. “Hm?”

Angela couldn’t see a way to backpedal from this. Her cheeks burned. “I just mean... how do you keep your hands so soft? Mine are always getting rough and dry from cleaning the shop.”

“The key is not making the soap-water solution too strong. Strong enough to sanitize, but weak enough to not cause too much drying of the skin.”

Angela hummed, feigning nonchalance while trying to will her heartrate down. “I’ll remember that.”

Their reservation was at a nearby restaurant: one in the same square as the cafés and unlikely to be missed by onlookers. It had been over a week since the incident, and Angela’s ankle was good enough to walk the 12 minutes with minimal limping. She was glad to have Fareeha beside her, even so; her tall, muscular frame lent her an impression of sturdiness that was admittedly comforting.

It almost felt too easy to act natural: Fareeha’s hand fit comfortably in hers, and Fareeha would occasionally touch the small of Angela’s back when they broke hands to press for a stoplight.

Angela blamed the warmth in her chest on her long-standing lack of a dating life.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was quiet enough for easy conversation; they talked about business, Missy, the recent finale of a TV show they had both watched and conspired about the owner of the infamous blog.

“What if it’s someone we know?” Fareeha wondered aloud. “An inside job.”

Angela snorted, thinking about her employees. “Though Lena has been badgering me about my lack of a dating life, I don’t think she’s invested in it enough to do something like this.”

“I don’t think anyone working at my shop could be this inconspicuous. _ Maybe _ Brigitte, but.. I still can’t see it.” Fareeha bit down a smile. “Speaking of her… Hana and Brigitte are dating now, apparently.”

“Are they really?” Angela grinned. “Hana never told me.”

Fareeha shrugged apologetically. “I don’t think she expected a positive reaction.”

Angela gestured in Fareeha’s direction, laughed. “It would be hypocritical of me to say much about it now, at least openly.”

Fareeha was quiet for a moment, studying Angela as she scraped the last remnants of her risotto. “What do you like to do, Angela? Outside of work.”

Angela swallowed her spoonful of rice. “I like reading medical journals. I play the piano. I… have a lot of plants.”

“Medical journals,” Fareeha echoed thoughtfully, as if filing that away. “Huh.”

“It’s always been an interest,” Angela said. “What about you?”

“Well… I like playing basketball and the guitar, and… I’m interested in nature photography.”

Angela leaned forward as she placed her spoon down. “What do you take photos of?”

“Birds and landscapes. Sometimes people’s dogs—I’m kind of a dog person. Though Missy is an exception.”

Angela pressed her lips together. “Of course.”

Fareeha grinned. “Do you still resent me for that?”

Angela just shook her head. “Maybe one day you’ll get a dog and he’ll love me more than you. And then we’ll reach an equilibrium.”

“As long as he loved me too, I wouldn’t mind.” Fareeha licked her lips, met Angela’s eyes. “Might even mean I get to see you more.”

Angela lowered her jaw as if to speak, but unfortunately for her, words did not come out.

“Just getting into character,” Fareeha mouthed, punctuating her point with a wink.

Angela cleared her throat, trying to regain a semblance of composure as she scanned the room for employees. Fareeha had caught her off guard. “I admire your dedication,” she managed as she spotted a waiter and politely flagged him down.

The waiter greeted them as he approached their table. “Together or separate?” he asked.

“Together,” Angela said. “It’s on me.”

Fareeha met her eyes. “You sure?”

The waiter left to retrieve the bill, and Angela looked around and then lowered her voice to a whisper. “It’s for all the shit I made you put up with.”

Fareeha laughed. “I like this a lot better.” She paused, realized what she was implying. “I mean—not,” she lowered her voice, “pretending to date necessarily but,” she scratched her cheek, “I like when I can talk to you without it turning into a competition.”

“I’m sorry it took so long.” Angela’s voice remained quiet. “Thank you for being patient with me.”

Fareeha thought about all the times Angela had smiled that night, how good it felt to be the reason for them. “It was wor—”

“How would you like to pay?” The waiter asked; ah, Fareeha hadn’t noticed he’d come back.

They left the restaurant not long after; Angela stopped Fareeha at a small park on the way back to her apartment. Angela was slow and deliberate enough that Fareeha knew exactly what she was doing before she even leaned up and pressed her lips gently to Fareeha’s cheek.

She laughed into her hand almost immediately afterwards. She gestured to Fareeha’s cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” Fareeha reached up to touch her cheek and felt the tell-tale tackiness of lipstick. Words melted before they left her brain. “It’s… okay.”

“I don’t usually wear it.”

“It looks… nice,” Fareeha managed.

Angela handed her a tissue from her bag. “Looks nice on you, too.”

Angela turned on her heel and strolled away, and Fareeha questioned multiple life choices as she smeared lipstick all over her burning cheek.

***

_Everyone’s Favourite Rivals-To-Lovers Smooch in the Park…_

For the first time so far the blog almost made Angela grin. A photo of a confounded-looking Fareeha with lipstick on her cheek had been captured from what looked like the other side of the street.

Perhaps Angela had enjoyed the date a little too much, but she was just… deprived of romantic affection—that was all.

“What are you smiling about?” Emily grinned, elbows resting on one of the shop’s counters. “How’s your new girlfriend?”

Angela swallowed her bite of sandwich and concealed a frown. They’d never actually agreed how far along they were in their “relationship.”

“She’s… not my girlfriend yet,” she decided.

“_Yet_,” Emily echoed with a laugh.

Angela tapped her hands on the table, smiled distantly; guilt crept up her chest. It was sweet her and Lena were happy for her, but… she just wished it wasn’t a ruse.

For their sake.

(Of course.)

***

The shop was indeed busier than usual the day after the blog’s latest post, but Fareeha couldn’t bring herself to look at the entry more than once. She’d been trying her best to swallow the odd ache in her chest until she closed up shop for the day and got home.

“So?” Brigitte asked, leaning against the counter with her sleeves rolled up. It was nearing eight in the evening, and the day’s flow of customers was slowly dwindling.

Fareeha blinked, putting down the piece of the espresso machine she’d been cleaning. “So?”

Brigitte nudged her arm. “You’re not going to tell us about your date?”

“Date?” Lúcio popped out from behind the sink corner, the green apron he’d tied around his waist spotted with dish water.

“Haven’t you seen the blog?” Brigitte raised a brow. “The long and short of it is—Fareeha has a thing for cat women who are always angry at her.”

“She’s not… I don’t...” Fareeha took a deep breath. “Angela and I got off on the wrong foot, but... she’s a good person.” Her eyes strayed beyond the front glass walls of her shop, trying not to sound too wistful. “And I like her a lot.”

Lúcio grinned. “Sounds like ‘Reeha’s pining.”

A customer approaching the counter mercifully saved Fareeha from having to think of a reply.

***

Fareeha happened to pass by Angela’s shop on the way back from the market early the next morning.

She found herself glad she’d briefly peeked into the glass walls, as the sight currently in front of her was more entertaining than she ever could have hoped for.

Angela jumped from side to side behind the shop’s counter, rolling her shoulders in time with some silent beat. She rotated her torso and moved her forearms in a circle like wheels of a train. She then placed her arms in front of her, flipped her hands palms-up, and…

Was… she doing the macarena?

Fareeha couldn’t help her laughter when she cupped her behind with her hands and swayed. After a few moments, Fareeha waved from behind the glass sheepishly, trying to get into Angela’s field of vision.

Angela eventually spotted her, eyes widening in horror. She laid her head against her forearms on the counter to hide her face, but Fareeha could see her shake with laughter. _ Cute. _

Once she appeared to collect herself, she walked to the door and stepped out.

“Nice moves,” Fareeha grinned.

“Didn’t think there was anyone else around,” she said, out of breath but smiling.

Fareeha pinched the collar of her shirt and lifted. “You’re not the only dolt who opens early in the morning.”

Angela laughed wryly, rubbed her eyes with a thumb and forefinger. “I suppose I deserve to be reminded of that.” She took Fareeha’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m behind on setting up and customers will be here soon, but… I’m sure I’ll see you around?”

“Of course.” Fareeha smiled. “Have fun.”

She took Angela’s hand and lifted her own arm above her, looking at Angela expectantly. Angela laughed when she realized what Fareeha was doing, twirling underneath with a flourish.

She placed her hand on Fareeha’s chest to study herself afterwards, lingering long enough to lean up and press a kiss to her cheek, this time sans lipstick. Her touch was soft and gentle, and she pulled away with a smile. “Just staying in character,” Angela explained, mirth in her bright, variegated eyes, and Fareeha didn’t trust herself to speak steadily.

This woman was going to kill her.

***

Fareeha’s finger hovered over the call button.

Her eyes strayed to the window. A blinking light passed over the darkened sky; a lone car swept by, and raindrops drizzled lazily down the pane.

She stared at the name on her contact list. Telling anyone else she knew would mean immediately having to give up her ruse…

According to her time app, it was 11 in the morning in Hawaii, which meant she would be awake, but not busy with lunch yet, either…

Fareeha finally tapped to dial, hoping this wouldn’t be something she’d regret.

She picked up on the third dial tone. “Well, well, Fareeha. You don’t usually call me at this time. How are you? How’s the shop?”

“The shop is great.” Fareeha slumped into the armchair in her living room. “I’ve been better.”

Ana hummed in sympathy. “What’s wrong, habibti?

Fareeha paused. “I haven’t told you much about Angela, have I?”

“Angela?” Ana asked, voice raised in interest, and Fareeha could envision her settling in with her cup of tea. “The shop-owner who doesn’t like you?”

“She runs the coffee shop on the other side of the square.” She tapped her fingers on the armchair. “Some things have… changed, between us.”

“Oh?”

“Some local gossip blog made up some story about us falling in love. Was pretty ridiculous, but it got us a lot of business. Angela had the idea of… running with it to keep increasing business, and…”

“You agreed to pretend to be with her, knowing that you already loved her?”

“Ye—_ No _ ,” Fareeha stammered. “I never even said _ .. _.” Ana was pointedly silent, and Fareeha sighed and submitted to her fate; she had chosen to call her mother, after all. “I haven’t been able to talk to anyone else about it because everyone here is supposed to think I’m already dating her.”

Fareeha tried her best to explain the awkward saga of dating but not _ really dating _, Angela’s rather confusing signals, the uncertainty of not knowing what was real and what was for show.

“Talk to her, Fareeha.”

Fareeha rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. “I know.”

A pause. Fareeha heard waves crashing in the background on Ana’s end, and she smiled despite herself; she was probably sitting on the beach.

“When did you change your mind about her?” Ana asked.

“Honestly… I never really disliked her,” Fareeha admitted. “It was more that Angela changed her mind about me. She was quite… protective of her business.”

“You should bring her over here when you start actually-dating.”

“You’re awfully optimistic.”

“You said she kissed you twice?” Ana clicked her tongue. “Hopeless.”

Technically, it was three times, but… Fareeha rubbed her temples. It was true that nobody had been around that last time; Angela couldn’t have had ulterior motives.

_‘Just getting into character.’_

Fareeha had said that first as little more than a thin excuse to flirt harmlessly. She wasn’t expecting to hear it mirrored back at her: after a kiss, no less.

Maybe her heart had been tainted by past dating experiences; maybe the possibility of Angela wanting to go on a _ real _date with her wasn’t so outlandish.

Fareeha said goodnight to Ana and leaned her head against the back of the armchair. She knitted her fingers together and exhaled gently.

Maybe she could let herself hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gopfertammisiech = May God damnate my corpse (the Swiss have a dramatic flair apparently)


	6. The Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, hope you enjoy the chapter.

“Damn,” Fareeha said under her breath, she almost burned herself when she tried to pour coffee into a mug. She was too distracted, a mix of daydreaming, anxiety and hope beneath her chest.

“You ok, Amari?” Zarya asked, slightly confused by Fareeha’s carelessness.

“Yes, no need to take out the first aid kit.” Fareeha gave the customer their coffee.

Zarya raised an eyebrow. “I was asking about you and your girlfriend.”

Fareeha inhaled deeply. It had been a few days since she had talked with her mom, and now she was thinking about revealing her feelings to Angela. That was easier said than done, especially because Fareeha—despite all the hypothetical positive scenarios she had thought of—didn’t know exactly how would Angela react to that. Hence the conflicting feelings beneath her chest. What was slightly alarming was that her friends had started to notice.

“Yes, everything’s ok! Sailing smoothly.” Fareeha laughed with not much conviction.

Zarya was about to press the issue, but then Honey by Kehlani played inside Fareeha’s pocket.

Fareeha saw the caller I.D. and then jerked her head towards the back of the shop. Zarya nodded, agreeing to take care of the café in her absence.

After exiting the building through the back door, Fareeha answered. “Hel—”

“Captain! How are you!” Someone shouted on the other end of the line.

Fareeha grinned. “You’re as effusive as usual, Saleh.”

“And you’re as calm and collected as ever. But we’re going to fix that. We’re getting together, the whole team, for a long weekend full of drugs, alcohol and prostitutes!”

Fareeha laughed, remembering old antics. “Saleh, you don’t do drugs and you’ve never hired a prostitute.”

“Those are only small details. You are still living in that small town, right? We’re meeting in Ilios, it isn’t far from you.”

That was true, Fareeha thought. It would take her two hours tops to get there by car. “When did you say we’re meeting?”

“Friday night, which is tomorrow. We will party non-stop!”

Fareeha hesitated. She had a date with Angela, and her team’s gatherings lasted days, so the date would have to be postponed for a week, maybe. “I don’t know, I might be able to join you guys a few days later.”

“Amari! The whole team needs to be there, you included. We’re celebrating!”

“Oh, are we?” Fareeha was amused. Their celebrations were for what many would consider small, unimportant things, but celebrate them they did.

“Yes! Malika’s wife is pregnant!”

Fareeha’s eyebrows reached her hairline, and her demeanor changed. “Bullshit.”

“Nah.” Saleh replied.

Despite not being in front of him, Fareeha knew Saleh had a smug grin on his face. “You’re not telling me anything else, are you?”

“We’ll catch up tomorrow.”

“I hate you so much.”

“Soon, you’ll get to hate me in person, isn’t that awesome?”

Despite the need to strangle her friend, Fareeha let out a hearty laugh. “Fine, fine! I’ll see you guys tomorrow night.”

“I knew we could count on you! I’ll text you the details.” And just like that, the call ended.

Fareeha sighed, content. It had been a while since she hung out with her old teammates. Although she was slightly remorseful that she’d have to cancel her plans with Angela. “It’s not as if we are actually dating.” _Not yet_, she thought. A dull ache throbbed in her chest.

Fareeha cleared her head and went back to work.

* * *

Angela entered the shop with brisk pace. She waved hello to Mei, scratched Missy’s head and began preparing customers’ orders. Hana had requested the day off and Satya could barely keep the pace, given she had to leave her alone briefly.

When there was a lull in the stream of customers, Satya faced Angela but kept her voice low. “What was so important that she asked you to leave the shop during a rush?”

“Oh, nothing, really. She just… had to cancel tomorrow’s date. She is going to be away for a few days.” Angela didn’t notice she was fidgeting a bit with her wrist watch.

“Nothing serious, I hope.”

“Oh no, no. She’s meeting some friends in Ilios to celebrate. They seldom see each other and this time it’s a big deal because one of them is going to be a mother. Fareeha got a call from one of them like 20 minutes ago.”

“Hmm. She told you right away, but she chose rush time to do so. I’m trying to decide if she was considerate or not.”

Angela snorted, because indeed the gesture was appreciated, but timing wise it could have been a little better.

“You rescheduled for another day, I take?” Satya asked.

“We couldn’t. She’s unsure of how long she’ll be away. It could be as long as a week, but she promised me she’ll call me as soon as she gets back.” Angela sighed, and without meaning to, she said “I was looking forward to tomorrow.”

Angela paused, unsure of where that had come from. “I sound disappointed, aren’t I?”

Satya shrugged. “It’s what happens when plans with your girlfriend are cancelled.”

_But she’s not my girlfriend,_ Angela wanted to reply, but she couldn’t. No one was aware of their little ruse to get more clients. It was all a lie, and yet, why was she feeling down? They would continue their small charade as soon as Fareeha returned, there was no issue there. Their shops would continue to thrive. The stupid blog would keep up with them. So why was she saddened?

Before she could mull too long over it, a big group of tourists entered the café, loudly talking between themselves. Satya and Angela promptly took their orders, Fareeha’s little interruption quickly forgotten.

* * *

A few hours later, it was closing time. Angela had sent home Satya earlier as some sort of apology for rush time, so she was alone. She had been dancing, or had been trying to, but soon found out that she was not in the mood.

Since seeing Fareeha, Angela had felt down for some reason, and even though she had ignored the feeling the whole day, now that she was alone with her thoughts, the nagging in the back of her head was not in the back anymore. Why was she sad that Fareeha was going away for a week?

When mopping was done, Angela put away the cleaning products, but instead of locking down the shop, she lifted down a chair from a table, grabbed her thermos and sat down to drink what was left in it. She took a sip and grimaced, it had gone too cold, yet she didn’t care enough. She took another sip.

Missy made an appearance from wherever she was hiding from the mop and rubbed herself against Angela’s leg.

Angela looked down and blurted, “Oh, I see you haven’t abandoned me.” She froze, unsure where that had come from. But deep down she knew.

When she spoke with Satya during rush, she had skipped the part where Fareeha’s voice had rose with excitement, the way her eyes shined with playful glee. It was something… new to her, a barrier she had not crossed yet. They had been dating—but not really—for a few weeks now, enjoying each other’s company, but this was a sort of intimacy they did not share at all.

Angela had tried to keep her mind busy the whole day, but her thoughts drifted towards Fareeha over and over again. Now that she was doing nothing, she realized that Fareeha meant more to her than what she previously believed. She wondered how it would feel to be the source of Fareeha’s unadulterated excitement, to be that important in her life… to be the _friend_ that would cause her to smile like that. Angela wasn’t sure exactly what she felt for her, but it was slowly coming to her. In the meantime, she would have to deal with this… longing, a feeling she wasn’t used to at all. Friendships were complicated, she concluded.

Missy jumped onto the table, startling Angela. She realized she had spaced out for a good while, and she should have gone home half an hour ago. She tipped up the thermos and drank the last few drops of the cold brew.

“I will see you tomorrow, don’t burn down the fort.” She patted Missy and left the shop, locking down the doors before walking home. She recalled her last date with Fareeha, finding comfort in the memory. Yes, she’d like to be a better friend to Fareeha, she thought.

* * *

> **Damsel in distress! Where is her knight in shining armor???**
> 
> Yesterday night, Angela drowned her sorrows in the bottom of a thermos (you guys can guess what was in it!) Abandoned, forsaken, and cast aside by none other than the greatest love of her life, Fareeha, Angela turned to the drink for solace. No one knows if they're still a couple but, when it comes to love, there's still a passionate hope that burns on—

Angela snorted at her phone screen. It was true that she had been using the gossip blog to attract more clientele, but it was as ridiculous as ever. Still, the photos taken of her did make her look sad, especially the one where she was finishing her coffee. She briefly wondered why was that, but her train of thought was interrupted.

“About to finish work!” Lena exclaimed effusively before taking several selfies, making different facial expressions for each one.

It was Friday, the day Angela and Fareeha were supposed to have another date, but now that she wasn’t busy, and even though the shift was properly covered, Angela had come to help close down for the day.

Emily looked at her girlfriend with what looked like resignation and then addressed Angela’s quizzical look. “She got a few new followers, so now she’s trying to post a bit more often.”

“Luv, come take a pic with me.” Lena side hugged Emily, aimed the camera at them and pressed the button on the screen.

Emily rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help showing a little smile. “Lena, you are recording, not taking pics.”

“I am? Aw, man. Wait, did I just post a video of me making a lot of silly faces.”

Gently, Emily took Lena’s phone and checked on her behalf. “Yup, that’s you making a lot of silly faces.”

Lena’s shoulders slouched in shame. “It’s the third time I’ve done that.”

“Fifth, actually.” Emily grinned.

A long groan left Lena’s lips. She placed her head on a table and hid her face behind her arm. Her voice was muffled. “End me, now.” Angela couldn’t help but laugh at their antics.

“I can end you later, right now we need to finish.” Emily coaxed her girlfriend out.

“Actually,” Angela said, “we’re almost done. I’ll take care of it, you guys go home.”

The couple could try to argue with her but they’d surely lose, as usual; Angela was already putting away cups and plates.

“Thank you, boss!” Lena was once again her happy self. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Emily and Lena took off their aprons and hung them in their place. “See you later, Angela.” Emily waved and walked out with her girlfriend in tow.

Angela heard Lena asking for her phone back, most likely intending to take yet another pic. After that, everything was silence. She was wiping the counter from the customers side when she heard the entrance bell rang.

“I’m sorry, we’re closed for today. You can come back tomorrow.” She said, without turning around, but the newcomer took her by surprise.

“Angela, you bitch!” Someone said loudly behind her.

Angela tensed up, dropped the cloth she had in her hand, and slowly turned around to face this person. She knew who that voice belonged to.

In front of Angela was a woman around her age, smaller than her, with dark brown skin and blue eyes. Her head was shaved on the sides and the back, while the hair on top—dyed silver—was done in thick cornrow braids, the tips jutting out from where they were tied together at the back. Her outfit was simple: biker boots, a t-shirt and a leather jacket.

When Angela’s gaze met this woman’s, her features hardened and her reply was swift. “Sojourn, you whore!”

The woman looked at Angela with something akin to contempt, and Angela didn’t doubt to look at her the same way. They were frozen in place, not doing or saying anything else.

After what felt like an eternity, Sojourn’s lips began to turn just a smidge upwards. Angela noticed this and she couldn’t stop her face from mirroring the other woman’s. Their serious expressions were fading away fast until they couldn’t contain themselves anymore, and burst out laughing uncontrollably at the same time.

No sooner had the laughter subsided they were in each other’s arms, hugging tightly. Sojourn buried her face in Angela’s shoulder and inhaled deeply. “Gods, I forgot how good you smell.”

Angela laughed again. “Perks of having a café.” She gently pushed Sojourn away to look at her face, and then she kissed her on the cheek. “It’s been so long, what brings you here, Jo?”

Sojourn blushed and despite her dark skin, it was still noticeable. She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “I thought of several excuses on my way here, but truth be told, I just wanted to see you.”

Angela smiled. “You’re as sweet as ever.” She looked around, ready to give Sojourn a coffee, but then remembered what time it was. “I’d offer you something, but as I said, we’re closed, so I don’t know if—”

“Don’t worry about it, I arrived late.”

“You could have called, you know?”

Sojourn shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you.” Something brushed against Sojourn’s legs and she looked down at her feet. “Meryl!”

Angela corrected her. “Missy.”

“Missy!” Sojourn crouched, excited to pet the cat.

“So where are you staying? Maybe we can catch up there.”

Sojourn looked away from Missy but kept petting her, a not so apologetic smile on her face. “I was wondering if I could, you know, stay at your place.”

Angela hesitated, but then remembered that, as things were, it was ok. “Sure, but we’ll have to leave Missy here. I’m not supposed to bring her home today.”

Sojourn grabbed the cat and hugged her tightly. “How can you expect me to leave her now that we’ve met again?” Missy, unfazed by the conversation, began purring in the woman’s arms.

Angela laughed once again; Sojourn always had that effect on her. “Fine, fine. I can take her with us this time. Just let me finish here and we can go.”

Sojourn nodded, still distracted by Missy.

Five minutes later, Angela was locking down the shop. “It’s ok if we walk?”

“Actually, I parked my car nearby, so I can drive us there.” Without hesitation, Sojourn grabbed Angela’s hand and led the way.

Angela, for her part, was happy that Sojourn was here. Right now, she was unconcerned by anything else.

* * *

When she was younger, Fareeha could and did party for one week non-stop, several times, and the same could be said about her teammates. But now, years later, she was feeling tired to the bone after only three nights of partying, and she wasn’t alone. Tariq, Malika, Saleh, Khawla, Mahmud, Aizad and Khalil, all of them along with Fareeha unanimously agreed that their time together had been worth it, but they no longer could keep up the pace like before. Their limit had been reached and they’d decided to call it quits earlier.

After the third night of partying and collective shenanigans, Fareeha reached her hotel room with difficulty, in the early hours of Monday. She was sharing room with a teammate, who wasn’t in the room yet. Fareeha unlaced her shoes, tossed them to the side and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, not even bothering to change into pajamas.

When she woke up, she felt slightly disoriented. She wasn’t hungover, but her mouth was dry. It was a few hours after noon and her stomach was rumbling, but that wasn’t what woke her up. She could hear Malika’s voice coming from the bathroom. Even if there was a door between them, it was impossible not to hear her. She was really, really loud.

By now, Fareeha knew that Malika was video chatting with her wife, like she’d done the previous days. Even though they talked about lots of things, their conversation topic always ended being about their future baby. In her sleepy state, Fareeha wondered how that would feel, sharing a milestone with a person you loved, and her mind immediately drifted towards Angela.

It was the first time that she thought of her since she arrived to Ilios. Catching up with her old team had taken her complete attention. Now that they had informally ended their reunion, Fareeha went back to the anxious yet hopeful state of mind regarding Angela. Seeing how Malika was overjoyed by the life she had with her wife, Fareeha was leaning towards revealing her feelings to Angela, consequences be damned.

Longing to see Angela and yet not being able to do so at the moment, Fareeha grabbed her phone and checked her messages. She was slightly disappointed to not see anything from her fake girlfriend, but then again, their relationship so far had been more a face-to-face thing. Chastising herself internally, Fareeha opened the third best thing: the gossip blog.

The most recent entry about them—because thankfully they weren’t the only ones featured on the blog—portrayed a lonely Angela, or in words of the blogger, ‘abandoned’. Fareeha felt slightly guilty when she saw the photos of Angela alone in her shop, but reminded herself that she’d be seeing her as soon as she returned from Ilios that very same day, in a few hours.

Fareeha was about to close the blog when a notification popped up in the middle of it, a purple sugar skull with a speech bubble that said ‘New fresh entry!’ Fareeha tapped on it and she immediately lost all her drowsiness when she read the title.

> **Angela has a new beau!!!**
> 
> As you can recall, in my last entry about the love birds Angela was last seen coping with the loss of Fareeha (seriously, that woman is LOST, I have no idea where she is), but that lasted exactly five minutes as a new contender for Angela's heart came waltzing in after hours. Drop dead gorgeous and meeting like lovers at night, could this be a new flame or an old paramour looking to steal back Angela's heart?
> 
> The met up that Friday in the romantically dark café, stealing kisses and holding each other long into the night. The photos tell it all. What passion!

There were a couple of pictures after this paragraph, and indeed they were showing how affectionate was Angela with this woman; the kiss she gave her was undeniable. Because the photos were taken from outside at an odd angle, it was hard to distinguish where exactly had she placed the kiss. Fareeha’s brain was telling her not to worry, her anxiety was telling her it was a kiss on the mouth.

> After catching up from their agonizing moments spent apart, they spent a loooooooooong time chatting, all smiles, flirty touches, and bashful laughter. Angela even made her mysterious new fling blush after whispering sweet nothings! And that’s not everything.
> 
> Remember our favorite feline trouble maker? Look how familiar our mysterious beauty is with Angela’s cat, freely scratching away at the picky mascot's chin. And we all know how Angela feels about Missy. It's clear they've met before.

Fareeha was frowning by now, confused and jealous.

> They left together that night holding hands, sexual tension oozing between them. But listen: Angela also took Missy home a day earlier than usual.
> 
> Now, my dear lovers of small town drama, tattle and rumors, you probably want to know why I didn’t publish this that same Friday night, and the answer is simple: I was waiting for another scoop on either Angela or Fareeha. We still don’t know what happened with them! Did they break up? Was this the reason that Angela was so miserable on Thursday, because she dumped her girlfriend? If so, why? If not, I can’t wait to see how all this turns out.
> 
> Rest assured, I will keep you posted.
> 
> Oh, one little update: Angela has yet to set foot in her shop since she left with her possible new beau! She spent the whole weekend with her and didn’t show up to work this morning. Her employees have no idea where she could have gone or why she hasn't shown…

The blog entry ended there. Fareeha didn’t know what to think of all this, but the feelings she had a few days before were nothing compared to the turmoil inside her right now. She knew that the blog wasn’t trustworthy, she wanted to believe that everything on it was a lie. However, the photos were awfully convincing and her mind couldn’t come up with good excuses for Angela’s behavior.

Fareeha’s ruminations were cut short when her roommate got her attention.

“Why that face? You look kinda pissed.” Malika said.

Fareeha regained quickly her composure. “It’s nothing, really. Could be nothing. I’m not quite sure. But yeah, mostly nothing.”

“This is about that cute coffee shop owner across the street, isn’t it?”

Fareeha couldn’t hide her surprise, her mouth agape. She stood up, ready to question her friend. “H-how did you—”

“You mentioned her in passing and quickly changed the topic. You’ve done that for ages.” Malika said with a sincere smile. “You’re really easy to read.”

“I thought you were drunk!” Fareeha pointed a finger at her, accusingly.

“You should know by now that with me there’s drunk and then there’s _drunk_.” Malika sat on the bed and prompted Fareeha to do the same. “Listen, I gotta go in like five minutes or else I won’t catch my flight, so we’ll skip the sappy talk.” She grabbed Fareeha by the shoulders. “Tell her how you feel, soon.”

“B-but I don’t know how she’ll react and there’s this thing—”

“I don’t care. Years ago, I wondered what could have been had you opened yourself to me sooner, but when you did I was already interested in Rahima. I’m not saying you made a mistake, but I believe things would have been different.”

Fareeha was silent, weighing Malika’s words.

“Promise me you’ll tell her soon.”

“Alright, alright. I will tell her, even if it’s awkward.” Fareeha leaned in for a hug which was quickly reciprocated. “I hate that you know me so well.”

“If things turn out well, you can thank me with a few bottles of that white wine I love, you know the one.” Malika tightened the hug for a second. “Now, I need to go. If I lose my flight, Rahima is going to kill me.”

Fareeha laughed and let go of Malika.

“I’ll say bye to the others. You should hurry up, I wasn’t joking about the wine.” Malika winked at Fareeha and exited the room.

Fareeha jogged to stop the door from closing. Malika was already going down the stairs. “Take care of yourself and Rahima!”

“I will!”

Fareeha closed the door and began stripping. If she was going to fulfill her promise, she’d need to take a shower first.

* * *

The sun was setting. It was late afternoon when Fareeha made her way back home. She felt the need to check up on her shop, but she knew that that was only an excuse to delay meeting Angela, so she discarded the idea. She felt emboldened despite the somersaults in her stomach.

She parked in a visitor spot of Angela’s apartment complex and made her way into the building. She chose to use the stairs to brace herself for whatever she may find. The promise she made to Malika was present in her mind, but so was the last entry of the gossip blog.

When she arrived to Angela’s apartment, she stayed a few minutes outside, trying to steady her heart. At last, she contained her nerves, inhaled deeply and knocked on the door. She heard noise coming from inside the apartment, and Fareeha had to keep calm and wait. The door opened and behind it there was Angela, taken aback by her visitor.

“Hi, Angela.” Fareeha said in a low voice, and she kicked herself internally. So much to be confident.

Angela was truly surprised and confused to see Fareeha now. “Oh. Hi, Fareeha. I didn’t expect you for a few more days.” She paused for a moment. “Would… you like to come in?”

“Yes, thank you.” Fareeha entered the apartment and she noticed a duffel bag on the floor, full with clothes that were definitely not Angela’s. She also heard, briefly, a bed creaking in the bedroom. She wanted to ask about these things, but in the end, Angela didn’t owe her any answers, so she refrained from it.

“I admit that you came at a… bad time. Had you come a few days later everything would have been better. How was the reunion with your friends?”

Fareeha turned around to face Angela. “It was good. Great, really. Malika and Rahima are going to be such good moms. And the rest of fools I have as friends will make sure to spoil the baby rotten.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Angela realized the bedroom’s door was open, so she casually walked to it to close it and returned to Fareeha’s side. “And how are you? You seem a little bit nervous. I hope everything’s ok.” She looked at Fareeha with more attention.

“No, no, I’m ok.” Fareeha laughed without humor. She rubbed her arm with her hand, hesitating. Angela stepped forward and placed a hand on Fareeha’s shoulder, a worried look on her face.

“You and I are friends, right?” Angela asked. “Despite faking a relationship for the sake of more customers, I gotta admit I’ve enjoyed my time with you, and I consider you a friend, even if I was… unpleasant towards you at the beginning. I… just wanted to let you know.”

“Thank you. I consider us… friends too.”

“So you can talk to me, I am here for you.”

“I…” Fareeha wanted more, she wasn’t sure since when, but at some point, friendship with Angela stopped being the final goal. She even daydreamed of having an actual relationship with her.

However, there’s someone sleeping on Angela’s bed now, most probably the woman that visited the café on Friday night. It hurts, deep inside, and she’s not sure if she can be heartbroken and a friend to Angela at the same time. Fareeha was the one who pushed for this friendship though, so if she was going to withdraw from it, she was at least going to be honest about why.

Fareeha took a deep breath and looked into Angela’s eyes. “I am in love with you.”

Angela’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I don’t know since when, but it’s been a while now. I’ve noticed these… things about you that make me happy just because. The sound of your voice, the way you pout when you’re peeved, your protectiveness of the café, how your laugh makes my heart jump. Little things that have been adding up. When I asked you to start over, I was truly wanting to be your friend, I didn’t intend to fall in love with you, and yet here I am.”

Fareeha expected to see an additional reaction from Angela, but the latter just kept a surprised face. Fareeha’s eyes went misty. “I… I know I missed my chance, by a few days, and it sucks and I didn’t expect to confess this way. I went ahead of myself, foolishly, so I’m going to take some days for myself. I’m going away so both of us can have some space. I hope that when I return, I can be a better friend; a less selfish one. Goodbye, Angela.”

Fareeha took a step back, pulling away from Angela’s hand. She opened the door and left the apartment, leaving a shocked Angela behind.

* * *

“I am in love with you.”

Six simple words that put Angela’s world upside down. She listened to everything else Fareeha said, but those six words were still echoing in her head, over and over again, and Angela was trying to understand what they meant _for_ her.

She stood there, frozen, watching Fareeha exiting the apartment and most probably her life. A few seconds passed, an eternity for Angela, until she found her voice again, though it was weak. “Wait,” she whispered. Her body finally remembered how to move and then she bolted out the door.

“Wait!” She ran for the elevator, but when the doors didn’t immediately open when she pressed the button, she chose to take the stairs. She would have fallen down the steps if not for strong arms that caught her. Angela looked up at Fareeha’s face, who was surprised and confused. It didn’t matter. Angela took her hand and led her back into the apartment.

Now that she made sure that Fareeha was going to stay, Angela tried to put her thoughts in order. She began pacing back and forth, arguing silently with herself. From the perspective of Fareeha, it looked as if Angela was debating with someone else.

What was the meaning of this? Why did Fareeha confess to her and then leave afterwards? Didn’t she want to be a better friend for Fareeha? Didn’t she want to be the source of her joy and excitement? When did it change from seeing her excitement to be the cause of it? Why would she want this if she only wanted to be friends with Fareeha? Why did Fareeha’s words threw her off so bad? Why did she freeze? Why was her brain not. Shutting. Up?

Angela stopped pacing and looked at a highly amused Fareeha. The sight of her silenced her thoughts for a second, and she let her heart take over. Then the answer was easy. “Schiss druf.”

She threw her arms around Fareeha’s neck, closed her eyes and kissed her. A moment later she felt Fareeha’s arms holding her closer, the kiss deepened. Her mind suddenly understood the longing and sadness, but those disappeared when her lips touched Fareeha’s. This warmth she was feeling, this felt right.

Angela had to pull apart to catch her breath, and when she opened her eyes she was greeted by a goofy grin. Fareeha was giddy, just like her.

“Would you like to be my girlfriend, Fareeha, for real?”

Fareeha nodded slowly, still dazed by the kiss. “Yes, fuck yes.”

Angela chuckled at Fareeha’s answer, but then she remembered something. “Why did you leave after your confession?”

Fareeha looked embarrassed. “I thought that I had missed my chance with you, but I wanted to give you an explanation and I didn’t want to bother you afterwards. With what I read in the gossip blog I just—”

“Gossip blog? Oh, _that_.” Angela frowned in disapproval. “I had completely forgotten about that—”

“Am I interrupting something?” A voice came from the small hallway that led to the bedroom.

Angela turned around, or tried to, because she refused to let go of Fareeha. She saw her guest, still wearing pajamas, her body covered by a quilt. “You’re finally awake. Jo, this is Fareeha. Fareeha, meet Sojourn, my little sister.”

Not everything was clear yet, but understanding showed in Fareeha’s features. “Oh. Oooh. Hi.”

Sojourn waved hello. “You didn’t mention you had a girlfriend.”

“I didn’t have one when you arrived.” Angela smiled.

Sojourn looked around, puzzled. “How long was I asleep?”

Angela laughed. “I’ll explain later.”

“Sure, sure. You guys keep doing what you were doing, I just need to pee.” Sojourn left them and went to the bathroom.

“Everything makes so much sense now.” Fareeha said. “How come you two are not… hmm…”

“Jo and I are adopted. The family resemblance comes from inside, my mom used to say. She arrived Friday night, and we spent almost all night talking, but by the next day she got sick. She had a fever, cold sweat and slept all day like a cat. Plus she has nightmares when she’s feverish. I let her borrow my bed and I’ve been sleeping on the couch. I’ve been taking care of her since then, but she should be ok soon.”

Fareeha scolded herself internally. “I’m sorry, about believing in the gossip blog.” She smiled apologetically.

“You were such a dolt. You should know better, but I can’t deny her photos are pretty convincing, as usual.”

“You are right.” Fareeha paused to think about what Angela had just said. “Wait. ‘Her’?”

Angela begrudgingly let go of Fareeha to grab her phone from the coffee table. She sat on the couch and invited Fareeha to sit next to her. She opened the photo album and played a video. Fareeha couldn’t see much in it, but she recognized the square where both cafés were at, and could hear but not see the always cheerful woman that worked for Angela.

“What am I looking at?”

“One of Lena’s failed attempts to record herself for social media. But,” Angela swiped the screen to show a screenshot of the video. “Emily noticed this and sent it to me.”

Fareeha saw an image that had been edited to look brighter. A person was aiming their camera at the coffee shop; they were wearing dark clothes, a hoodie covering their head. But a strand of hair was poking out of it. Fareeha gasped. “Purple hair.”

“It was my idea to take advantage of the blog and everything was ok until…” Angela grimaced, “…that entry this morning, it’s just… Ugh. She crossed a line.”

“Dating your sister. Wow, it sounds so much worse out loud.” Fareeha mulled over the situation. “What should we do?”

“I think we should tell our friends the truth, they’ve been pretty supportive. I hope they are not mad at us or anything. Concerning _her_, I think we should teach her a lesson. Nothing too drastic, we did use the blog to get more customers. But then again that last entry was—”

Fareeha decided to ease Angela’s worries for a bit. She cupped her face and leaned in, stealing a kiss. The tension left Angela’s body and she kissed Fareeha back. They had all the time in the world to figure things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Schiss druf" means "fuck it". Big thanks to [TheSoundOfThunderstorms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSoundOfThunderstorms/pseuds/TheSoundOfThunderstorms) for her help with the blog entries.  
You guys know [where to find me.](http://metalwarrior22.tumblr.com)


	7. The Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet ya'll thought I wasn't gonna finish this, huh. Lmao. Nah but really, thanks for being patient! Special thanks to aizia and everyone else who offered such helpful input on the draft, too :')

It was early in the morning when Angela began her walk to work.

She pulled her jacket closer around herself. The mornings were slowly but surely starting to become colder, a sign that the winter months would soon be upon them. Although Angela did favor the warmer months, the winter season was one of the best in terms of business for the shop. Nothing made a cold snowy day better than a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and nothing made Angela happier than seeing people enjoy them in the coziness of her shop.

As she got further into town, she saw that there were many more people bustling about than usual. The streets were being decorated and storefronts were setting up tents and stalls of varying types. The festive nature of the atmosphere further brightened her mood and gave her more to look forward to later in the day. 

The town held a yearly festival of sorts in the evening to celebrate the end of one season and the beginning of another. Tourists came into town from all over to attend. The various shops on the Square would set up stalls to offer their goods and wares, do and there were many games, tons of food, and some nice fireworks to end the night. It was one of Angela’s favorite times of the year.

As a coffee shop, Angela didn’t have much to offer during the actual event. When pitted against all the other street foods and snacks, coffee and pastries just didn’t hold up as well. Still wanting to do her part, she offered what she could during the day, instead. She had spent all of last night after closing decorating the interior with the festival colors, and Emily had made some very well designed signs to hang in the storefront to invite tourists and locals alike. She wouldn’t forget those working hard to set up for the evening either, making sure to provide them with some warm drinks and refreshments. 

Overall, she had a busy day to look forward to.

And busy it was, as the late morning rolled around. Her, Lena, and Emily had their hands full with customers. As an ‘all hands on deck’ kind of day; even Hana and Satya were all on shift. The manpower was definitely needed with the larger than usual influx of customers, and Angela was beyond grateful that everyone was so willing and cooperative every year. As such, one could imagine their relief when the last order was served and they were blessed with a small break. They took the time to get some tidying done before the next rush, but also found it as the perfect opportunity to discuss their plans for later.

Lena and Emily were idly speaking about their plans for the night as they washed and dried dishes respectively. Satya would chime in on occasion, as she restocked the cups and lids. Hana… well, Angela wasn’t too sure where Hana had gone, but if she had to guess it might’ve been to visit a certain redhead a few shops down… Angela mostly kept to herself as she wiped down the counters, enjoying the ambience of the room and occasionally looking out past the windows at the ever growing crowds. Her mind wandered to what vendors would be present this year and she easily found herself reminiscing back to prior years. She was so lost in her own little world she had barely registered she was being called.  
  
“Hellooo, you there, Boss?”

She turned to find Lena waving her down from the sink. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Angela, Lena?”

“Boss flows off the tongue so well, though,” she shrugged, passing Emily another mug to dry. “Anyway, what are your plans later? Are you gonna go to the festival with your new _ girlfriend _?”

Angela could already feel the heat rise to her face at the mention of the ‘g’ word. It had been about a month, give or take, since her and Fareeha officially started dating. Still, hearing it mentioned aloud always had the same effect on her, and Lena had quickly figured such a tiny detail out. Angela gave her a playful glare before realizing that she hadn’t really thought about her plans for the evening. Of course, she had intended to attend the event, but, admittedly, inviting Fareeha hadn’t crossed her mind. Years of being single made it easy to overlook these things, okay, but now that the idea was planted in her head, she couldn’t deny the appeal was certainly there.

Still, as much as she would like to spend some one on one time with the piece of art that was Fareeha Amari, suddenly she had an even better idea.

“How about if we all go together? Both shops, in a big group,” she suggested, leaning back to rest against the counter. “I think it would be nice. And we can all get to know each other better.”

Emily lit up at the idea. “That sounds like a wonderful idea, Angela!”

Lena quickly piped in. “Yeah! It’s kinda like being introduced to the family after the first few dates go well.”

The comment earned her a scolding tap on the arm from Emily and a sly grin from Angela. Ever since her and Fareeha came clean about the whole fake dating scenario and announced that they were now officially dating, a certain brunette suddenly had a lot more quips and comments to make. By now Angela was used to it, but she was definitely keeping count of all these times for when payback presented itself.

“Are you going to go mention it to Fareeha?” 

This time it was Satya who chimed in. Then once more Angela was reminded that she would actually have to go over there and suggest this to her for it to be a thing to happen. Unless… 

“I could just call her…”

A chorus of indistinguishable groans and complaints were her response, and they bickered for a bit as they tried to persuade her to buckle down and invite her out. Amidst it all, as Angela turned her head towards the door and a customer made their exit, a thought occurred to her. Her eyes darted around the front of the shop, and upon not seeing what she was looking for, she audibly groaned. 

“Missy escaped _ again _.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Business was absolutely booming on this fine morning. The shop had seen a large spike in customers today, as to be expected. Fareeha was more than ready for the sudden change of pace; ready to bust out a few orders. Yet, somehow, instead of being behind the counter she was moping at a nearby table. 

Imagine owning a shop and your employees ban you from working _ because _ it’s too busy. It was completely unheard of, yet here she was sitting around while the rest of her crew worked their asses off. Knowing this was one of the busier days, Fareeha asked if everyone was available to come in so they would never at any point be swamped with work. She didn’t think they would breeze through it all so well that they’d have her sit this one out. 

“I’ve never heard of a boss being upset that they _ couldn’t _work.”

Fareeha turned toward the other occupants of her table. Hana sat nursing a cup of something, probably coffee that Brigitte made for her. Fareeha raised an eyebrow at her casual appearance in the shop. 

“Hana, when did you get here? Don’t let Angela find out you’re fraternizing with the enemy,” she joked, taking a sip of her own cup. 

Hana waves her off with a hand. “Don’t worry. We made it through the first rush and earned ourselves an unsanctioned break.”

“And I am honored you would escape work to come ask me to make you coffee when you work in a place full of people who could make you coffee,” Brigitte chimed in from behind the counter. “Sorry, I’m so busy, though.”

“You wouldn’t have to be if you all would let me do literally anything,” Fareeha groaned aloud, throwing her head back in defeat. 

At the mention of Angela, though, Fareeha did wonder how the first half of her morning had gone. She was happy to know she had gotten a small break from the rush, and without any thought found herself smiling to herself. A bad decision. 

“Looks like Amari is thinking about her girlfriend again, guys.”

Fareeha sighed, sending a look Zarya’s way. Unfortunately, comments like this were her life now. 

“Don’t worry, Reeha, she thinks about you when she’s at work too.”

Hana’s encouraging words only embarrassed her more, and she groaned once more as she buried her face into her hands. Her face was heated and her heart beat just a tad faster by default at the mention of Angela. Knowing Angela had similar thoughts at work only made the feeling worse. 

Thankfully, Fareeha was saved when she heard a familiar scratching on the door to the shop. Peeking around the table, she saw her favorite kitty asking to be let in. She ignored someone’s comment about Angela’s shop slowly taking over as she went to open the door for Missy. It wasn’t anything new that Missy tended to escape Angela’s shop and make her way to hers, but lately she swore these were becoming more and more routine. So routine, Fareeha had begun to consider installing some sort of cat door. She had seen a rather cute one online shaped like a cat’s head with pointy ears, and it looked rather easy to install as well. 

As she opened the door Missy strolled in and rubbed up against her leg, as cats tended to do. She reached down to scratch behind her ear. “Well you’re here early today. Came for your regular, I presume?”

Missy mewed in response. 

“Coming right up then.”

Really, if anything, Fareeha was simply content to finally have something to do. As she went behind the counter to fetch the small saucer she kept specially for Missy, she noticed out of the corner of her eye the sneaky feline had leapt onto the table where Hammond rested. She wasn’t too worried, but she did keep a watchful eye out. 

In the fridge she had a special glass jar of milk labeled: “Missy Only. DONT Touch :)”. As she usually did when the cat came to visit, she poured a decent amount into her saucer and then popped it into the microwave for a few seconds to warm up. Missy waited patiently, though she was still eying little Hammond as he ran on his wheel. As Fareeha placed the saucer down, she simultaneously lifted his cage to save him from the impending sense of doom he most likely was feeling. 

“One ‘Missy Special’ for our favorite feline customer. And, thank you for not eating my hamster today.”

Some snickering from behind the counter prompted her to mildly scrutinize her crew who most likely were giggling over her exceptional customer service skills, however Lúcio pointing towards the window had her realize their snickering was for other reasons. Angela waved, rather shyly, from where she stood half inside, half outside the door. She didn’t usually chase after Missy, knowing this was usually where she came, so it was a nice surprise to see her. 

“Angela,” she greeted, suddenly feeling the need to stand a little straighter and smooth out the wrinkles on her apron. 

“I hope she’s not causing you too much trouble,” she said, nodding towards Missy’s direction. 

Following her gaze, Fareeha noted a certain Hana Song had also disappeared seemingly into thin air. “No, never.” Fareeha smirked. “It’s always a pleasure when good ol’ Milky pays me a visit.” Angela was smirking as well now. Under different circumstances she probably would have said something, but Fareeha noticed she became a lot more shy around others. Despite knowing this, she would gladly consider this her victory. “Anyways,” she segued, “what brings you in today?”

“Actually, could I talk to you? …Alone?”

Fareeha ignored the almost immediate snickering as she agreed to follow her outside. She pointed with two fingers at Lúcio and Zarya in particular, implying that she was keeping an eye on them, as she closed the door behind her. When she got outside she noticed right away the slight tinge of red on her cheeks and the way she fiddled with her hands as if not to know what to do with them. It struck her heart as the cutest thing ever.

“Hey, sorry about them.”

“Oh no, it’s fine. Lena and Hana have their fun whenever you come by as well.” 

Fareeha filed that info in the back of her mind for the next time Hana decided to stop by. 

“Anyway, I only wanted to ask you something.”

At this Fareeha raised an eyebrow, folding her arms to her chest as she leaned against the glass. “You can ask me anything.” She watched as Angela fidgetted some more, tucking some hair behind an ear, and honestly couldn’t keep herself from smiling. Her eyes remained trained on her the whole time, waiting patiently for her question.

“What are you doing later tonight?”

That wasn’t the question she was expecting.

Somehow, she now felt like she was on the spot. Her own face grew warm and her hands began to fidget around in her pockets. She remembered that there was the yearly festival later tonight; the perfect atmosphere for a date. Was that what Angela was planning? How foolish of her to not have thought of such a thing first. It was the perfect opportunity. She mentally shook her head at herself in disappointment. “Uhm… Did you have anything in mind?”

“Well, there is the festival later. I was thinking we could go? But only if you want to. I was thinking it could be like a group outing between the two shops. Everyone could get to know each other better.”

At the mention of everyone else, Fareeha deflated a little. She could both hear and see Angela’s excitement about such an outing as she spoke, though, so she bounced back pretty quickly. “I think that’s a great idea. I can let everyone know. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to come.”

As they discussed the time and place to meetup that would work best for everyone, Fareeha noticed how much she was looking forward to it. In her head she was already formulating ways to persuade anyone who declined into going anyway, for Angela’s sake. She doubted it would come to that, though. 

Soon enough, plans were finalized and the night was officially a go. Still, they both stood around a little longer, as if waiting for the other to say something else. 

“Have you ever been before?” Angela asked. “To the festival?”

Fareeha hummed. “Maybe in passing. You?”

“Every year.” She stated it proudly. “Though, I guess this will be my first year going with such a big group. I usually go alone. I think Satya accompanied me one year…Oh! That was the year we ate too many sweets and actually ended up getting pretty sick. But in our defence, there were a lot of good options and I couldn’t resist supporting local businesses, and…”

She went off on a small tangent, but Fareeha didn’t mind. It was delightful to see Angela so hyped about it. “Ah, this explains why you looked so happy earlier.” Noticing the questioning look on Angela’s face, she elaborated, “I saw you this morning while I was walking Charlie.”

“And you didn’t bother to say hi?” She fake pouted. “I’m hurt.” 

Fareeha rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to come up with a better excuse than ‘I chickened out’. “You know how excited Charlie gets when she sees you. I didn’t want to be a bother so early in the morning.”

With a solemn smile, Angela rested a reassuring hand on Fareeha's arm. “You're never a bother. It probably would have made my morning.” The tone of her voice paired with her soft touch made Fareeha’s heart flip.

“Oh,” Angela continued. “I do need to get back to the shop now. I’ve been out longer than I thought.” Fareeha’s heart sank. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

She turned to leave, her hand sliding down Fareeha’s arm as she went. Fareeha didn’t know what came over her then, but she caught onto Angela’s wrist at the last second, gently pulling her back. With a single step she closed what distance had remained between them, placing a hand on the side of Angela’s face as she leant in to place a soft kiss to her lips. 

Any confusion Angela had had on her face prior to this disappeared, a hand was on Fareeha’s chest, and then as fast as it happened it was over. Their lips parted but their hands stayed. Angela in particular clenched tighter onto Fareeha’s shirt as she buried her head into her chest in an attempt to hide her heated face. 

Fareeha chuckled at her antics. “I’ve wanted to do that all morning.”

With a proper goodbye had, this time they parted for real. Fareeha watched Angela scurry down the street for a bit before finally heading back inside. She was greeted with a myriad of whistles and comments from her staff who she realized had clearly watched everything from behind the glass. 

“Nice one, Boss.”

“Yeah, real smooth.”

“I’ve never seen Angie so red.”

“Alright, alright,” Fareeha called out. “Everyone back to work, and that means you too, Song.” She pointed towards Hana who had conveniently reappeared behind the counter after Angela left and gestured for her to get going. 

Understanding her welcome had been overstayed, she gathered Missy in her arms and slipped through the door. There was another small rush (of which Fareeha was allowed to help this time) during which Fareeha filled everyone in on the evening’s plan and they were all down for an evening of fun. After, Fareeha returned to where she was sitting prior, leaning back with a sigh. Her stomach was doing all sorts of flips and she couldn’t get rid of the giddy smile she wore. 

Perhaps she was looking forward to tonight much more than she had thought. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


With everyone on board for the festival Angela let her excitement carry her through the rest of the day. As a result, the evening had quickly rolled around, and soon Angela was turning the sign to ‘closed’ as she locked up shop for the day. She had let everyone else go a little earlier than usual today, in the event that anyone wanted to perhaps return home before meeting up. She was doing so herself to bring Missy back home and squeeze in a quick shower. With how bustling the square would be late that night, she felt better having Missy home for the evening.

There was a pep in her step as she made her way back home, showered and changed in record time, and fed Missy her dinner before heading back out. Along the way to the meetup Angela ran into Zenyatta—or rather he ran into her as he called out to her. He was one of Fareeha’s friends that she couldn’t say she knew too well. She didn’t see him around as much as she saw the others, but she had seen him once or twice on occasion. 

He raised a hand in greeting as he approached her. “Angela, good evening.”

“Good evening,” she replied. “Want to walk together?”

“Ah, I was going to ask you the same.”

They chatted a bit as they walked, during which Angela learned that the reason she rarely ever saw Zen was because he only really worked Saturdays or covered for other shifts if need be. The atmosphere around him was rather tranquil, she found. For some reason she felt like him and Satya could get along pretty well.

When they finally reached the meetup spot, she was surprised that mostly everyone was there save for a couple of missing faces. Lena and Emily noticed her first and greeted her accordingly. She introduced them to Zenyatta in turn. Brigitte and Hana were also there, as was Zarya. Lúcio and Satya arrived a few moments later together, to Angela’s surprise, which meant the only person they were waiting for now was Fareeha. Angela didn’t know her to be late, so the more time passed the more she began to worry. It was unreasonable since Angela knew she would have contacted her beforehand had her plans changed, but she couldn’t help but worry that she could have changed her mind about coming. It left an uncomfortable sinking feeling in her chest, even as she mingled around with those who were there. 

A sudden commotion from a few of the others had drawn her attention away from the conversation she was having with Lúcio about his music. Her heart was suddenly at ease when she saw Fareeha walking towards them, paying no mind to everyone complaining about her tardiness.

“Nice of you to take your time, Amari,” Zarya teased.

“I never want to hear any shit about being late from you ever again,” Lúcio joined in.

Brigitte chimed in, too. “Yeah! I was a few minutes late just last week and you wouldn’t let me hear the end of it.”

Fareeha only smirked at them all as she approached the group. She looked towards Zenyatta and spoke. “Do you also have any grievances as well, Zen?”

“I’ve never been late, so not particularly, no.”

She clapped her hands together in response. “Alrighty then,” she concluded, as she made no effort to reply to their comments, and action that only had them groaning some more.

Angela watched the whole thing unfold with a soft smile. She very much enjoyed the dynamic between Fareeha and her crew. Fareeha talked about them on occasion, but seeing them in person reinforced how much they all cared for each other. Thankfully Lena saved Fareeha from their second wave of complaints by suggesting they not waste any more time and start making their way to the fun. They weren’t that far from their destination and could quickly see the lights and a few stalls in the distance. 

As they started walking and the group chatter resumed, Angela felt a presence at her side.

“Hey, sorry I was late. I was running a last minute errand and it took a lot longer than I expected.”

Turning to face Fareeha she found she looked genuinely apologetic as she awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. Definitely a lot more apologetic than she looked when her crew was complaining about her tardiness.

“Don’t worry, it's fine. I won't berate you like everyone else did,” she joked. “I'm just glad you didn’t change your mind about coming.”

“I would never. And if something did come up, you would have been the first to know.” A pause, followed by a smirk. “Why? Were you worried I wasn’t gonna show?”

Angela’s face was ablaze once more at her playful tone. She had foolishly outed herself. Her head lowered a bit as if they would help evade Fareeha’s pressing question, but she found she was saved as they finally reached their destination. A large archway stood before them signaling the entrance to the event. Banners and paper lanterns of various sorts decorated the streets above them, leaving a soft orange hue to highlight the area, and the smell of great street food wafted around them.

There were already conversations on what to do and where to go first. Their pace slowed as they walked into the crowds, heads turning left and right to take in the different games and vendors. A particular conversation, or rather argument, between Hana and Brigitte on who could win the most games must have sparked an idea in Lúcio’s brain as he gathered everyone’s attention. 

“What if we have some friendly shop versus shop competition?” At the mention of competition, everyone was instantly interested. Angela was a little relieved to see she wasn’t the only one with a roaring competitive spirit. “We can split into teams by shop and see which shop comes out with the most wins by the end of the night.”

The reception to this plan was extremely positive. Small rivalries were already forming such as that between Brigitte and Hana. Angela mused about beating Fareeha in a game and being able to rub it in her face occasionally. Then, a thought occurred to her. 

“Okay, but what does the winner get?” 

There was some verbal musing, but inevitably Fareeha’s voice cut through them all. “Losers buy winners the street food of choice.”

Everyone glanced around, nodding in agreement of these terms. It seemed fair enough. Thus, everything was settled with a handshake between Angela and Fareeha, the designated team leaders, and the games were set to begin. 

The first round of the night was between the two who inspired the competition in the first place: Hana and Brigitte. Their game of choice required players to knock down a stack of bottles with a ball to win. They each got three tries, and Hana came close on her third try, opting to try and determine the best spot for the ball to hit that would knock down the bottles with gravity. However, Brigitte knocked it out of the park on her first try through raw force, sending all the bottles crashing down and securing the first victory of the night for team Fareeha.

They kept up the pattern of one on one, someone from each team volunteering to take on the other in a game of choice. Zarya absolutely obliterated Lena in the test of strength where they had to hit the target with a hammer using enough force to hit the bell at the top. Emily consoled her afterwards as she began to question the extent of her upper body strength. It was looking slim for team Angela until Emily pulled a win over Lúcio at the ring toss and Satya managed the same against Zenyatta in a mini golf game. With that the score was tied up and stomachs were rumbling as the last two competitors, Fareeha and Angela, searched for a game to play. 

They settled on a head to head basketball game, or rather Angela did, as Fareeha let her choose. Her decision may had been a mistake if the smug look on Fareeha’s face was any giveaway. She would come to find out a few moments before they began that it was a huge mistake as, evidently, Fareeha used to play basketball in college. Angela tried her damn hardest to win, but inevitably, she just didn't make as many shots as Fareeha, leading to her unfortunate demise. She sighed in defeat.

Team Fareeha cheered in victory, surrounding Fareeha as they congratulated her on her win. They were already bringing up spots where they wanted to eat from first. Perhaps knowing just how competitive Angela could get, her own team opted to console her on their defeat, a gesture that was actually very appreciated. It was just friendly competition, but Angela does become pretty invested in these sorts of things. Though, in the grand scheme of things, she supposed after all the prior nonsense that was her internal rivalry with Fareeha’s shop, she did deserve to be humbled. 

Fareeha slid next to her as they walked back to the taco stand they had passed earlier. 

She gave her a small bump with her shoulder. “You okay?”

Angela tried to hide the remnants of saltiness she was still feeling as she replied, “Yup.”

“Hmm,” Fareeha narrowed her eyes in doubt. She didn’t push it any further, though. “Well, you may have to buy me snacks today, but perhaps another day I can buy you dinner.”

She had to admit. Fareeha Amari could be pretty smooth when she wanted to be.

“I’d like that very much, actually.”

A few different eateries were visited, and team Angela did hold up their end of the bargain, treating the others to a food item of choice. At the waffle stand, Angela had just paid for Fareeha’s banana waffle with chocolate syrup and was making her way back to the group a little ways off when she caught sight of a head of purple hair in the distance. Once she confirmed it was who she thought it was, she called out to her . “Olivia!”

Having heard her name called the woman turned to where Angela was. In her hands she held a crepe packed with a generous amount of spread, a few different fruits, and topped with chocolate drizzle and powdered sugar. The sight of it made Angela’s teeth ache, but at the same time she imagined it must taste amazing. Olivia seemed to contemplate whether to actually walk over to her or not, but ended up meeting Angela halfway. 

Weeks ago, after realizing Olivia was responsible for the whole gossip site fiasco, Angela and Fareeha had immediately confronted her about it. By then they weren’t too upset about it, considering the favorable outcome of it all, but Angela did give her an earful for taking it way too far. She was very apologetic, though, and had swiftly removed the blog at their behest. Angela even took it as far as to put her through some ‘community service’ by asking her to help around both of the shops when needed. But even through all that, she still came by on occasion for a cup of coffee or to sit around and do work on her laptop, so there were no hard feelings.

“Hey, Angela. It’s been a while, huh.”

It had been. She couldn't recall the last time she had seen Olivia at the shop. “Yeah, how have you been? I didn’t know you were a fan of festivals. You could’ve come with us!” She motioned towards where the group was mingling somewhere in the distance, noting how Fareeha was looking around for her and her waffle.

Olivia laughed awkwardly. “Ah, actually no, I don’t really attend these sorts of things. I was just doing some work and came across the crepe stand over there.”

It was then Angela noticed the camera hanging around her neck and put two and two together. “Oh! You must be taking photos for the event.”

“Uhh, yeah something like that. But, uh, I should probably get back to it, you know. It was nice running into you though, Angela.”

“It was nice seeing you too, Olivia. You can stop by the shop more often, you know.”

She laughed again as she walked away, waving goodbye. “I know, I know.”

Overall the night was shaping up to be a wonderful time, and what better way to finish it off than with an extravagant fireworks display. As was tradition every year, the festival would conclude with an amazing lights show. There was a perfect spot in the center of town wide enough for crowds to gather and watch. The group did split up somewhat around this time; Angela had expected Lena and Emily to dip out at some point, but she also noticed Brigitte and Hana slinking away together hand in hand. And, of course, Fareeha managed to pull her away from the others to have her all to herself.

Arms linked, they made their way through the crowd to a suitable spot to sit and watch the fireworks. They lucked out and managed to find the perfect bench completely unoccupied. Fareeha held her close, wrapping an arm around her waist, and Angela rested her head comfortably against her shoulder. She let out a content sigh as she let herself become engulfed in Fareeha’s embrace, her warmth, and her scent. Everything couldn’t have felt any more perfect, or so she had thought. 

The moment the fireworks began, the mood was elevated tenfold. The lights danced in the sky and cast their shadows across them as they looked up in awe. Angela had seen the fireworks before, yes, but never had they made her feel how she currently felt. She wished they could stay like this forever, wrapped in each other’s arms. She wanted to remember this forever. 

Of course, all things came to an end. As the fireworks finished and the crowds began to thin, they had to meet up with everyone to depart for the night. Fareeha nudged her up to begin their walk back to the entrance, their designated meet up spot. Her head quickly found its spot against her shoulder again as they walked hand in hand. 

“This was a lovely evening.”

Angela hummed in agreement. “We should have outings like this more often.”

“We could. Or,” Fareeha trailed off, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, “we could have outings like _ this _ more often.”

The suggestion brought a smile toAngela’s face. “And we will when you treat me to dinner.”

“And after that?”

“Then I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Now Fareeha hummed in agreement. “I like the sound of that.”

Surprisingly, they were first ones there, but they didn’t have to wait long before everyone started to show up. Angela took the time to personally thank everyone for coming, and likewise they all thanked her for getting everyone together. She was glad to see that everyone else had had as good a time as she had, and she hoped that after this maybe the two shops would become closer as a result. 

She waved goodbye to the last of the group as they finally turned to leave and decided that it was probably time she made her way home, too. She expected Fareeha would walk her, as she usually did on the days they closed around the same time (and even some days when she didn’t), but it seemed Fareeha had other plans.

“Hey,” she called, reaching out for Angela’s hand which she readily gave her. “Would you actually want to come over to my place for the night?”

Angela was a little thrown off by her sudden nervous disposition. It wasn’t as if what she was asking was something new to them. There were a handful occasions where Angela stayed over at Fareeha’s or vice versa. “Of course. Can we stop by my house first so I can pick up a change of clothes?”

She pulled out the car keys from her pocket, spinning them once around her finger before catching them. “I’ll drive us.”

Within the hour they were at the door to Fareeha’s apartment, keys in hand as she made to unlock the door. It wasn’t until then that they realized they both made a grave error when the sound of excited whines and sniffles came from the other side of the door. Angela dropped her bags in preparation. She was no stranger to this. She knew what to expect.

Fareeha gave her a look of sympathy, mouthing a ‘sorry’ before committing to opening the door. It had barely even opened halfway when a whining furry blur zoomed through Fareeha’s legs and straight towards Angela.

Having done this many a time before, she thought she had a good grasp of the creature's momentum, and felt more than ready to intercept. Yet she was still met with surprise as the larger-than-she-remembered dog practically jumped into her arms and damn near knocked her over in the process. 

Still, Angela gave the pupper rubs and pets, and the force generated by her happily wagging tail left her vibrating in Angela’s arms. Charlie whined and cried as she jumped up and down, trying to reach Angela’s face, no doubt to shower her with ‘kisses’.

A couple of weeks ago Fareeha had gotten a puppy she had named Charlie, an adorable black labrador retriever. She was a rescue from a nearby shelter and was just barely five months old when she had adopted her. The day Angela finally came over to meet the dog was the day they both realized Charlie was absolutely smitten with her. Angela loved the irony of it all considering how much Missy favored Fareeha over herself.

“Aww, Charlie, I’ve missed you, too! And you’ve gotten bigger!” She spoke to her in that particular tone one used when speaking to dogs as she rubbed that sweet spot behind her ears. This only seemed to excite the puppy even further, prompting her to jump harder and higher and Fareeha to finally intervene.

“Okay, okay, can you let her breathe, please.” Fareeha sighed, manually removing the dog from Angela’s person. The action only seemed to make Charlie cry out more as she struggled to free herself from Fareeha’s grasp. “At least let her get inside first.”

She put Charlie back down and this time she was a lot more calm, choosing instead to rub up against Angela’s legs excitedly as she made her way inside.

“You know, I was only joking about your hypothetical dog loving me more than you, but it’s always nice to see the universe work its magic.” Angela teased her as she placed her bags down and knelt down to give Charlie some proper scritches.

Fareeha grinned, thinking back to that conversation. “And like I said, as long as she still loves me too, I don’t mind at all.” Then she paused, her grin growing wider. “You are Charlie’s little angel after all.”

At that Angela groaned audibly. “That was just bad.”

“It was a little clever,” Fareeha argued quietly to herself in a pout.

Once Charlie was content with her rubs, Angela left to go for a quick shower before she changed. In the meantime, Fareeha prepared Charlie’s dinner and did a little tidying up in the kitchen. When Angela finished up, emerging from the bathroom clean and changed, Fareeha went to do the same. She sat on the sofa with Charlie snuggled up to her side while she waited, looking through the catalog for a good movie to put on. Fareeha’s tablet made a noise from the nearby nightstand and it drew her attention for a second before she was back to movie searching. 

“Hey, your tablet made a noise earlier,” Angela called when she heard Fareeha walking around behind her.  
  
“Oh, really?”

There was an excitement in her tone Angela hadn’t expected. It intrigued her as Fareeha picked up the tablet and plopped onto the couch beside her. Angela smirked when she saw the lock screen photo was a photo of herself, but decided not to comment on it. The noise had apparently been from her email, as Fareeha opened the respective app to check her inbox.

She tapped the most recent email and lit up at its contents “Ah, this is perfect timing.”

The tablet was pulled against her chest before Angela could take a peak at what it was. 

“Ah, ah. Patience,” Fareeha playfully scolded her. “Remember that errand I had to run earlier?” 

Angela nodded, and Fareeha held the tablet so Angela could see it clearly. She opened the attached file on the email, and the first thing Angela saw was a photo of their group from earlier. If her memory had served her right, it was when they had been walking to the entrance. Fareeha skipped to the next photo. It was something similar, this time of Hana and Brigitte specifically. They were caught off guard but it was clear they were having a good time. As more and more photos followed such a theme, Angela looked to Fareeha for an explanation.

“You see, I could tell how much today meant to you. So I thought it would be nice if there were photos so you, and everyone really, can remember this day.”

Angela didn’t remember ever seeing any photos being taken, and was racking her brain to figure out how Fareeha managed such a thing. Then it all made sense. The style of photos were very similar to the ones she used to post on her blog as well. 

“Olivia.”

Fareeha nodded. “Yup. I asked if she could get some nice shots of us, and of course I made sure she was compensated for her work.” She slid through some more photos. This time she landed on one of herself with the waffle Angela had gotten her. She briefly commented that it was a good waffle.

Angela had to admit that this was indeed an amazing idea on Fareeha’s part. The photos were wonderfully taken. The quality was crisp, the lighting superb. They already brought back such good memories from earlier. So they sat, snuggled up together as they went through them all one by one, and honestly it was better than any movie Angela could’ve picked. 

A few photos from the fireworks show came up next, and even though this was something Angela experienced herself earlier, seeing it from a different perspective hit her differently. At that moment, she had been watching the fireworks. She assumed Fareeha had been too. But one look at these photos proved otherwise. Every once in a while there was a photo of them where Fareeha’s gaze was more focused on Angela than on the fireworks. The look on her face was one Angela couldn’t say she had seen yet in person.

The next photo, one of Fareeha placing a kiss atop Angela's head, really made Angela pause. She remembered how nice she had felt in that moment. Combined with the photo it left her with… a feeling. 

She turned to look at Fareeha. To _ really _ look at her. Fareeha kept scrolling through the photos, oblivious that Angela’s attention was no longer on the tablet. Angela noted her expressions, the content look on her face. Angela felt a sense of peace as it washed over her. She liked that she was the reason for Fareeha’s smiles. She wanted to always be the reason for Fareeha's smiles, for her joy. For as long as she would let her.

Fareeha loved her. She had made that very clear to Angela that day. Angela felt a bit foolish, that it had taken her so long to come to the same realization, despite how long it had already been true.

“Fareeha.”

“Hm?” She looked up from the tablet, realizing Angela’s attention had been elsewhere. 

Angela leaned in then, surprising Fareeha and even herself, a little. Still, Fareeha obliged her, and their lips met softly. Fareeha relaxed at the contact, her hand finding its way to Angela’s face.

Angela smiled as they parted, the apparent tightening in her chest easing into something warm.

“I love you, too, Fareeha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, I hope you all enjoyed! Also, peep the upload and update dates of the fic and tell me it wasn't worth the wait for that ;)


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